Louisiana fishermen pray their livelihood will return, hoteliers in Alabama wait for the phones to ring, and New Orleans' finest chefs cook up public relations strategies rather than po'-boys — all because oil has touched their shorelines. The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill has delivered two blows to the states that border the Gulf of Mexico: the actual presence of oil, and the perception that oil is everywhere. From Louisiana's oil-polluted marshes to Florida's sugary-white sands, most of which remained free of oil's taint, officials worry that they can't restore the region's battered image. "The damage, it has been done," said Mike Foster, vice president of marketing for the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau in Alabama. "This is both real damage and damage caused by perception. But we're not soaking and dripping in oil." "If you're a traveler sitting in Chicago spending the day watching CNN, frankly your impression might be that oil has covered the entire Gulf Coast," said Geoff Freeman, senior vice president for the U.S. Travel Association. "I don't think any community can think it won't be treated differently by travelers because oil has or hasn't washed ashore. They're watching the news, but the complexity of ...
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