Officials worry oil scaring foreign visitors
06/14/2010
Associated Press
Gov. Charlie Christ walked along Miami's shoreline surrounded by reporters in a choreographed moment intended to tell foreign travelers that the beaches are clean.
Nearly half of the 12 million visitors that traveled to Miami-Dade County in 2009 came from other countries. Foreign tourists also tend to stay longer and spend more money.
So far, no tar balls related to the Deepwater Horizon's explosion have washed ashore in South Florida.
But tourism officials worry the gooey images of oil washing up more than 600 hundred miles away in Pensacola are scaring foreign vacationers headed to South Florida.
Nearly a dozen local officials asked Crist Wednesday to spend some of the claims money from BP on advertising aimed at European and other foreign travelers
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