Nightmare Marketing Problem Killing Florida Dive Industry--Any Suggestions?

[FloridaScubaNews]

Misunderstanding Killing Dive Industry in Florida, not the Oil Spill

As is so often the case, the greatest damage to Florida’s dive industry is not coming from the outpouring of oil from the Deepwater Horizon site, but rather from a misunderstanding of how this tragedy has affected the Sunshine State and may continue to do so in the future. More…

Oil, Oil, Everywhere! (Well, Actually, No...) | Florida Scuba News... scubanews.com

 

[SkimFisher]

Oh, I thought it was over LDS's ripping people off. Hm.

 

[Sandbar]

BP gave Florida a $25mm grant to help promote tourism. The link below is to an article describing how the money is being handled. Basically DMS is allocating to the various tourism boards, including Visit Florida. You should get in touch with the tourist folks and make sure that the diving message is getting out there.

Crist: BP Finally Put $25 Million in State's Hands | Sunshine State News

 

[deepstops]

Sandbar - good to see you back on SB

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Misunderstanding Killing Dive Industry in Florida, not the Oil Spill

As is so often the case, the greatest damage to Florida’s dive industry is not coming from the outpouring of oil from the Deepwater Horizon site, but rather from a misunderstanding of how this tragedy has affected the Sunshine State and may continue to do so in the future. More…

Oil, Oil, Everywhere! (Well, Actually, No...) | Florida Scuba News... scubanews.com

What information do you have to make such a statement? They have lied for weeks about the rate of oil being lost (it is 10 times what they have said it was). I doubt anyone knows what the total ecological damage will be, especailly since the oil can not be stopped this month or next month and they seem to have stopped trying to do anything that will stop the oil in the next 6-8 weeks, at best. What misunderstandings do we have? Who has exaggerated the future effects?

The oil is washing up on the Florida beaches right now, around 25% of the gulf is closed to fishing and we have not yet been informed of any of the impacts of the dispersants. A tropical system is forcast to move over the area next week and surely this will complicate the repsonse efforts.

 

[Sandbar]

I think the point of the original post was not to question any misunderstanding about the absolute devestation that has been caused (and will be caused) by the spill. Rather, the point is that the majority of Florida has NOT yet been affected by the spill, especially the Keys and east coast, and this it is where an opportunity for misunderstanding exists. People hear "oil on Florida's beaches" and may assume that is impacting everywhere.

Despite the lack of oil in most of the state, hotel bookings are down significantly across the board. Again, this is the reason BP gave Florida $25mm: to promote the fact that tourism is alive and well, despite the catastrophic events in the panhandle.

We natives all know important tourism is to our state's economy (read, keep property taxes down). And IMHO, we should be promoting the fact that there is great diving right here, right now.

 

[DennisS]

They need to get people to realize the panhandle is a small part of Florida. Pensacola is closer to Knoxville than it is to Miami. They need to get the word out that the spill is far away from most florida destinations, although I did see a newscaster on the shore of the Disneyland lake broadcasting that the spill had not arrived there yet.

 

[BabyDuck]

i think up-to-date ads on tv & the internet about where the oil *is*, where it is *projected to be soon*, and where it is *not* would be helpful. if you don't know where it is, the safest thing to assume if you live in oregon or something is that it is everywhere.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

i think up-to-date ads on tv & the internet about where the oil *is*, where it is *projected to be soon*, and where it is *not* would be helpful. if you don't know where it is, the safest thing to assume if you live in oregon or something is that it is everywhere.

Why would an informed public believe any predictions about where the oil will be located in the future when the federal government has been shown to have been lying about the rate of the spill for 3 weeks or more? I put very little value upon their advertisements and predictions.

 

[Sandbar]

The FACT remains that Florida has a pot of money to spend to promote tourism. Keeping in mind that the vast majority of the state is unaffected right now and has been unaffected for 67 days - should the state not promote tourism? Predictions are what they are. Whether it's the federal government or anybody else, predictions will always have an element of uncertainty.

Life (and the business of tourism in this case) need to go on. You can shake your angry fist at the US government, but that doesn't help the hotel owner, dive op, restaraunt, etc. that is being impacted in areas with no oil by misconception that there is oil. Florida's tourism economy has already suffered through a terrible recession, and they need all the help they can get.