The BP oil leak will reportedly lead to loss of nearly 400,000 travel industry jobs on the Gulf Coast and the US Travel Association is calling upon BP to fund a $500 million marketing campaign to attract visitors to the region. The association has produced a ten-point “Roadmap to Recovery” outlining its suggestions.
The association has also released an economic analysis of the oil spill’s impact. Working on the experiences of recent natural and man-made disasters, the forecasting firm Oxford Economics has estimated that it will take three years and $22.7 billion for the Gulf Coast to recover from the oil spill.
US Travel also wants the federal government to open an online Web portal, a one-stop shop where users can get up-to-the-minute information about areas affected by the spill. They also want the government to provide tax deductions to those who visit the region, or do business there. Tourism businesses in the region should also be given increased access to low-interest loans.
The association also wants government help to organize travel and tourism-specific trade missions to the Gulf Coast states.
At least one industry has very ambitious ideas on how to recover from a major disaster.
Read the Washington Post story at Mercury News.
