A consortium of 11 tourism destinations near the Gulf of Mexico has asked BP for a $55 million grant to pay for marketing campaign, while the Greater New Orleans CVB asked BP to give $75 million to the city of New Orleans for marketing efforts.
SouthCoast USA, a trade association that promotes the Gulf Coast, asked for funds following grants made by BP in May ‑‑ $25 million to Florida and $15 million each to Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana ‑‑ to promote tourism.
Meanwhile, the New Orleans Metropolitan CVB urged BP to grant the city $75 million over three years to further market the destination and head off a potential loss of business from the Gulf Coast oil spill disaster. The new money would come on top of the $5 million the bureau has already received from the company to date.
Toby Odone, a spokesman for BP, noted the company had already given “large sums of money to four coastal states to promote tourism.”
