First family on tourism-boosting trip to Florida Panhandle; will Obama take plunge into Gulf?

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Will Obama take the plunge in Gulf of Mexico?

PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla. — The first family dashed to the Florida Panhandle on Saturday for a brief weekend trip — part vacation, part sales pitch — as President Barack Obama sought to boost a tourism industry reeling after the Gulf oil spill.

Perhaps the most intriguing question of the Obamas’ 27-hour dash south was whether the president — joined by first lady Michelle Obama, daughter Sasha (her sister Malia is at camp) and family dog Bo — would take a dip in the Gulf of Mexico.

While the Obamas planned to enjoy the area’s recreational activities, the president and first lady first met with small-business owners at a Coast Guard Station to hear firsthand about the economic and environmental fallout from the BP spill.

Obama said his administration planned to make a long-term commitment to restoring the Gulf Coast. “We want to keep our focus here and not forget just because the well is capped,” Obama said.

The president and first lady were joined at the discussion by Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, a former Mississippi governor appointed by Obama to develop a long-term Gulf restoration plan; the mayors of Panama City and Panama City Beach; the general manager of a three-hotel chain that has had 1,000 room night cancellations due to the spill, translating into more than $191,000 in lost room revenue alone; the owner of a charter boat company; and the co-owner of a restaurant and two fishing boats.

Tourism officials say the region typically brings in 70 percent of its yearly income between June and August. Although only 16 of the 180 beaches in the western part of the Panhandle were affected by the spill, tourism officials say many potential visitors have stayed away, deterred by images of oil-slicked waters and tarball-strewn beaches in other parts of the region.

The head of the U.S. Travel Association has proposed that BP, responsible for the oil spill, set aside $500 million for a marketing campaign to help draw tourists to the Gulf states.

Alabama’s attorney general on Thursday sued BP and others companies associated with the spill, seeking unspecified economic and punitive damages. At least 300 federal lawsuits have been filed in 12 states against BP and the other three main companies involved in the April 20 explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drill rig, which triggered the disaster.

The White House scheduled the Obamas’ trip after facing criticism that the president wasn’t heeding his own advice that Americans vacation in the Gulf.

“This is still a place that’s open for business and welcoming so vacationers and people can have a wonderful holiday here,” Obama said during a June trip to Pensacola, Fla. — one of his four to the region before this weekend.

The first lady went a step further during a July visit to Panama City Beach. “One of the best ways that fellow Americans can help is to come on down here and spend some money,” she said.

Obama has vacationed in North Carolina this summer and is heading to Martha’s Vineyard, off the Massachusetts coast, later in August. Mrs. Obama also traveled to Spain this month with Sasha.

The government’s point man on the spill, retired Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, said Friday that the blown-out well was not securely plugged to his satisfaction. He said that drilling a relief well — long regarded as the only way to ensure that the hole at the bottom of the Gulf never leaks oil again — must go forward.

Work on the relief well was suspended this week because of bad weather.