With oil disaster, perception is reality

ST. PETERSBURG - "Perception" has become the new dirty word in Florida.

Now that we're beyond Day 100 of the oil spill, we can see just how much it's impacted our area.

The oil has never reached Bay Area beaches, but there is a perception that is has. David Downing with Visit St Pete/ Clearwater said that can be devastating.

"Perception is reality. It's what everyone in media knows. It's what everybody acts on. They don't always act on facts. They act on perceptions," Downing said.

For many, they see oil on Florida beaches and assume it's affecting every area.

Tommy Raichel from Scottsburg, Indiana said he was concerned at first, when they traveled here on vacation. He was glad to see, his "perception" was wrong.

"There's no oil whatsoever. And the beaches are as clean as can be. We brought our family down. And we've had a great time. The ocean is clean. We went out everyday and swam in it. It's nice," Raichel said.

But Keith Overton with the Tradewinds Island Resorts on St Pete Beach wishes everyone would come and see for themselves. Instead, they have many who've canceled or just aren't calling.

"Obviously, we have had no oil on our beaches, but Tradewinds is down $1.7 million through June, since the incident of the oil spill," Overton said.

With 800 rooms, they are the largest resort on Florida's west coast. And they are worried about the long term effects.

Fall and winter are usually busy months -- it's when Northern and European visitors come.

Capt Mark Hubbard, with Hubbard's Marina on Johns Pass in Madeira Beach, believes those visitors are now lost to them, financially.

"Oversees and up in North America and even south America. We have a big Brazilian market. They're not going to fly here to come to the Gulf coast. With the possibility there might be oil on the Gulf coast. So we've lost that entire market," Hubbard said.

He came back Wednesday afternoon with about 50 visitors, on a deep sea fishing charter.
It was a half day trip. The only one they now do. Two years ago, Hubbard says they were taking two half day charters out.

"Our numbers are severely down. But we are still fishing," he said.

But they're doing it with less equipment. Monday night, one of their boats, the Florida Fisherman was seized by the U.S. Marshals. Captain Hubbard said they did miss two payments because of their struggling finances. But he said their bank misdirected months worth of other funds, causing the seizure of the boat.

David Downing, from Visit St. Pete/Clearwater said they're dealing with these perception issues on every level.

Last Friday, in the USA Today, the headline read, " A shared tug of loss". And under it, it read, "from Galveston to Tampa, how spill is changing lives."

Downing was upset to see a map inside, drawing a line from Texas to Tampa. He said it gives the perception that we all have oil on our beaches. He worries some may not read the entire story and just see the headlines. That, he said, can cost businesses money.

"We have to start with keeping the story accurate. Our impact is perception. Our impact is economic. And that's very real," Downing said.