JUNE 16 — Today’s New York Times article features Florida’s latest national advertising campaign and includes a link to the television spot, along with script. Click here to read entire story. http://nyti.ms/dCaU0S

JUNE 17, 2010 — Sen. Charlie Justice (D- St. Petersburg) wrote a letter to the Air Transportation Association asking the airlines to waive their cancellation fees because people are being scared away from booking trips to Florida and other states on the Gulf Coast. They are worried that if the area they are visiting is affected by the oil spill, they will have to pay a cancellation, so they aren’t booking at all.

JUNE 20, 2010 –– Fear of losing tourists dollars in high season, officials won’t close the beaches. As in fictional Amity Island, Florida officials find themselves in the jaws of a dilemma.

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JUNE 22, 2010 — The risk of oil from the Deepwater Horizon blowout reaching the Florida Keys and South Florida anytime soon is now so remote that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has suspended its trajectory maps for the area, effectively downgrading the region to low risk.

BP, the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies are acting aggressively to contain and capture the oil offshore to prevent oil from reaching the shoreline. Despite these efforts, shoreline impacts are likely at many locations along theGulfCoast.

If you witness shoreline impacts, please call the telephone numbers below.

To report oiled shoreline: 1-866-448-5816

To report oiled wildlife: 1-866-557-1401

For spill-related damage claims: 1-800-440-0858

If you feel ill due to the oil spill or have oil spill health-related questions, call the Deepwater Horizon medical support line: 1-888-623-0284

What happens after oil reaches shore?

Once oil contamination on the beach is identified through surveillance and monitoring or is reported by the public, activity commences to respond to the situation. The response focuses on safe, effective and efficient removal of the oil contamination while maximizing protection of environmentally sensitive areas, recovery and rehabilitation of wildlife, and minimizing economic impact.

Many times, a newly reported area is already considered in an existing response plan. At other times, review and assessment is necessary to ensure safe and effective removal of the oil contamination without harm to the habitat, wildlife and environment.

The Shoreline Clean-up Assessment Team, working in conjunction with resource advisors, such as the National Park Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, develops a Shoreline Treatment Recommendation Plan within hours of the initial notification. This plan describes the situation, particular habitat, wildlife and environmental concerns, and recommends a plan for removal of the oil contamination while preventing harm or further damage.

Based on this plan, the response team determines the safety plan, necessary equipment and resources. This phase addresses available access roads, sensitive habitats and wildlife refuges, and whether heavy equipment can be safely used on site or if manual removal is required.

Because each shoreline is unique, individual plans are developed and areas are closely monitored to safely and effectively remove the oil contamination in an expeditious manner without harm to humans, wildlife and the environment.

Please be assured that as long as oil is coming onshore, the Unified Command team will respond.

Access more information at:

www.deepwaterhorizonresponse.com

www.epa.gov/bpspill/whatyoucando.html

Source: Representative Jimmy Patronis, Jr.

JUNE 24, 2010 — As clean up crews deal with streams of chocolate colored goo on Pensacola Beach, British Petroleum is telling Florida officials the company is going to make good on all the damage caused by their gusher in the Gulf of Mexico.

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JUNE 30, 2010 — Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association President and CEO Carol Dover today offered solutions to British Petroleum claims representative Darryl Willis to facilitate the more than 13,000 claimants who are working to provide BP with additional information in order to receive their filed claims.

“I would like to establish a hotels and restaurants claims office to provide one unified form and to make the claims process much easier for our hospitality industry members,” said Dover during Governor Crist’s Oil Spill Economic Recovery Task Force meeting held Wednesday at the University of West Florida in Pensacola.  “With over 13,000 claimants having to provide additional documentation to BP in order to be paid for their massive economic losses, it seems to me that we can alleviate much of the bottleneck in paperwork.”

In addition, Dover revisited the idea with BP that they provide Florida with ten thousand gas card vouchers, each in the amount of $100 for local hoteliers to use as incentives for tourists to visit impacted areas.

“Hoteliers are already offering discounted room rates.  The ability to incentivize a visitor’s stay with a gas card to pay for their travel to the state is a win-win for all parties involved,” said Dover.  “BP is already paying Florida through grants and advertising dollars, this is yet another way to drive visitors to our great state.”

July 20, 2010 – At a recent meeting with Governor Charlie Crist, State Representative Jimmy Patronis, and other tourism and hospitality leaders in Northwest Florida, Carol Dover asked Claims Czar Ken Feinberg a question relating to those within our industry and filing claims.  The transcript is below.  Click on the YouTube link and hear response at the 2:17 mark.

Gov. Charlie Crist: Carol Dover, who represents the hoteliers and restaurateurs throughout the state of Florida, does a great job with that, and I know she would like to say a few words.

Claims Czar Ken Feinberg: Carol Dover asked…Can a hotel, or a motel or a restaurant that has not directly been impacted by the oil on the beach, file an eligible claim?  The answer is of course!  File a claim.  We’ll take a look at it.  We’ll seek corroboration, but by all means, file that claim.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ups5mJ4TI_E

July 20, 2010 – The Destin Log reports that Carol Dover/FRLA is working to bring tourists not only to Northwest Florida during the summer, but also this fall. “We want to give great value to get people down to the most beautiful beaches,” Dover said. “People don’t realize how beautiful it is in the Panhandle in the fall.”

http://www.thedestinlog.com/news/florida-14631-working-dover.html

July 23, 2010 – FRLA Chairman, Keith Overton was interviewed on the Laura Ingraham Show which was broadcast live from the TradeWinds Island Resort.  Chairman Overton discussed the damage being done by the media-perpetuated image that all of Florida is covered in oil and the importance of accurate reporting on the true untouched state of Florida beaches.  The full show broadcast can be hear on LauraIngraham.com.  Overton’s comments come at 1:25.27 in the segment.