• May 12, 2010

British Petroleum says it will spend $500,000 to help spread the word that the Gulf Coast states should not be avoided as tourist destinations due to the oil spill.

Coast tourism officials told BP that the campaign needs to begin immediately to counter the negative perception of the oil spill coming from the international media.

About 150 people from the tourism industry attended a meeting this week at the Mississippi Coast Coliseum. They said their charter boats, hotels and restaurants are losing business because people believe there is oil on the beaches.--Tanya Irwin