PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Sports Towels and woolen blankets. A poker tournament. $ 1 million Christmas display. A dance for the elderly, BP gas gift card. A "mom most deserving" of the contest. And advertising, much publicity.Florida Panhandle officials made the mixture of eyebrow-raising purchases of $ 30 million BP gave earlier this year to help tourism recover from the disastrous 2010 oil spill in the Gulf.
The money allowed seven tourist offices in the area to try promotions that could not afford otherwise, and that has prompted the Panhandle has to record visitor numbers this year after a disastrous season right after the spill. The question now is what happens when the money dries BP, most likely next April. Grants will be doubled and tripled the budget for tourism promotion in these counties of the Panhandle, and officials fear that the increase in visitors can be ephemeral.
"One thing is to have the numbers increase when a huge amount of money you are putting not only our economy but in all of North Florida," said Curt Blair, executive director of Franklin County Tourist Development Council. "Let's see if after April of this there is a real recovery ... or if we drop. ... If we did or if we just kept on the market."
BP announced $ 30 million in tourism grants in April. Although the agreement of the $ 30 million Florida does not preclude pursuing any claims against BP or others, officials decided a week after not join other Gulf States in a lawsuit against Transocean, owner of the Deep-water Horizon in the heart of the spill.
Ola Florida Tourism spending is not the first time that BP's money has allowed government officials to engage the list items of your desire.
Moreover, BP already had poured hundreds of millions of dollars in the four Gulf States in the months following the oil spill - with few conditions. The Associated Press documented earlier this year how some of the $ 754 million given to local governments had been spent on tasters, SUV and pick-up, rock concerts, iPod, and other items without a direct connection with the spill of oil.
In total, BP has given $ 150 million to Alabama, Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi to the promotion of tourism and the oil spill, the Sunshine State to get the lion's share - $ 62 million.
In the event that the payment most recently, Florida Panhandle counties have allocated more than $ 23 million of the $ 30 million through September, with $ 13.5 million used in television, digital, radio and print media. The counties also have spent millions on a variety of tricks to attract attention, told The Associated Press found through public records requests and interviews.
Some wonder if most extravagant promotions - like Panama City $ 1,000,000 of the display of Christmas - they deserve it.
"It was all that was held here last week," said Charles Willingham, a merchant of beach near the screen, a few days after Christmas lights came on and the ice rink opened in early December. "There were many people there skating and a lot of money to spend."
The seven counties spent $ 2.5 million in promotions only.
In Pensacola, the money paid by BP $ 30,000 sports towels and a $ 30,000 wool blankets delivered to local sporting events. In nearby Perdido Key, officials spent $ 300,000 in American Express cards for gifts to visitors during the night. They also purchased $ 12,500 dollars in BP gas cards for tourists to submit receipts showing they have been in the area, essentially putting funds back into the pocket BP Company.
Alison Davenport, president of the Chamber of Perdido Key and the Visitor Center, said the goal is to get tourists driving to the area next spring. "We had no hesitation in choosing the BP gas cards over any money because the BP grant has made the promotion of incentive travel as possible," he said.
Okaloosa County, home to Destin and Fort Walton Beach, is giving away a trip to Super Bowl tickets for the football game BCS championship to drive traffic to their Facebook page. South Walton Beach also is giving away tickets to BCS on Facebook.
Okaloosa County passed a half-million dollar marketing and advertising of Vision Airlines, which this year launched the service from the regional airport in northwest Florida to various cities of the Southeast.
The grants have funded fishing tournaments half a dozen, a poker tournament, a national flag football tournament and a soccer tournament.
It has paid plenty of contests.
Carol Daley, of Arlington, Texas, won a "search for more deserving of the United States Mom" contest Okaloosa County. His prize was a one week stay in Destin, airline tickets round trip, $ 1,000 for a spending spree and a 2011 Buick Enclave valued at over $ 36,000.Ashley Spencer won a photo contest from the beach in South Walton Beach holiday that netted $ 15,000. Franklin County officials sprayed the area with tracks and sponsored a GPS-aided treasure hunt.
A $ 166,000 Panama City Beach program includes one month holiday next to the elderly. The dancing couple elected king and queen of online presentations will get to invite two friends to a weekend at the beach.
"We believe that reaching these people talking about why his friends should be queen and king will really help this virus, speaking in Panama City Beach as a destination of fun," said Dan Rowe, executive director of the Panama City Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau.
The financing of BP paid around 20 different festivals.
Santa Rosa County spent $ 80,000 on a sand sculpture festival. The money is to pay $ 120,000 Pensacola area celebration of Mardi gras next year, your New Year's Eve $ 25,000 and a $ 540,000 music festival. Panama City used $ 100,000 money from pirate-themed festival, a country music festival and a $ 1.3 million Christian music festival $ 425,000.
Panama City Christmas display includes ice rink, a candy cane forest and a huge display of lights.
"I think it's a great idea," said Michael Dores, a visitor from Omaha. “People love it."
The money that BP was more than triple the tourism promotion funds normally spent by officials in Okaloosa County. It was double the regular budget of $ 750,000 for tourism authorities in Franklin County, home to Apalachicola. The $ 7 million Bay County has more than twice the normal budget of $ 3 million.
"It would have been able to do two-thirds of what we did without BP grant," said Mark Bellinger, executive director of the Okaloosa County Tourist Development Council. "We just never have the money in the past for TV ads."
Tourists stayed away for much of the summer of 2010 after masses of sticky tar washed ashore during the spill. Pensacola Beach has a thick layer of dirt for a day or two, but resorts further east, he saw mostly small tar balls. Tourism experts say the image of the area suffered months of news footage from the beaches of oil.
The visitors returned en masse, however, in 2011. Okaloosa County had its best ever June, July and September. In many counties, tourism is as much as 20 percent over last year.
"It seems that the effort ... have been successful," said BP spokesman Craig Savage. "The campaigns and pent-up demand of consumers have made 2011 a banner year for tourism in the Panhandle."
Apart from advertising agencies have purchased Panhandle tourism, BP has launched a new national advertising campaign on television this week to outline the cleanup efforts in the Gulf.
Florida State University professors Mark Bonn are not sure of the negative perceptions of the Panhandle will fade fast, especially the life away from potential visitors.
"I think it will be a minimum five-year process before people are convinced that all is well," said Bonn, professor of management services. "I think it takes people time to adapt to situations."
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