BP provided a $7 million grant to seven coastal counties in Northwest Florida for last-ditch marketing efforts to save a summer season that has been dismal since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
The grant was divided among the tourist development councils in Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf and Franklin counties. The amount each county received was based mostly on bed tax revenue, the Northwest Florida Daily News reported.
Escambia and Santa Rosa counties were given some extra funds because they sustained the most impact from the spill and received the most negative press coverage from the national media.
The funds must be used to attract tourists and be spent by Sept. 15.