When the Tanned One comes to town and declares it's safe to lay on the beach without oil, you know it's the truth.
Sort of.
Gov. Charlie Crist walked Miami Beach on Monday and pledged his support to local businesses and residents who fear the threat of the BP oil spill washing ashore has kept tourists away from the area.
Crist, shirt sleeves rolled up and the sun beaming on his face took a few steps and then turned to cameras.
"It looks pretty nice to me," he said. "It is important to communicate that to our friends in Europe, Canada and around the globe that Florida is a big place."
One of the biggest gripes of South Beach hotels and other tourism driven businesses is that most foreigners hear "Oil in Florida" and immediately think, "Oil on South Beach."
Contrary to popular belief, there are maps in Europe and most tourists know the difference between the Panhandle and Miami, but that didn't stop the belly-aching of business leaders who want the governor to step up.
Local
"The phones are starting to slow down a bit because of the constant damage of the media," complained Bill Talbert, CEO of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.
While the Governor was pounding the sand and hearing tales of oil woe Visit Florida launched a new TV commercial touting a broader picture of Florida's coast lines.
Earlier commercials focused just on the Panhandle. Then the oil arrived, which touched off massive media coverage that impacted the tourism business statewide.
"Our messages are going to have to evolve as the impacts evolve, and really at the most basic level it is a hyper-local event," Will Seccombe of Visit Florida said.
The strategy appears to be "Tell 'em where the oil ain't," and hope the message gets through ahead of the headlines.
