Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Miles Wolf Tamboli
Talk Radio News Service

Like so many Gulf Coast businesses, the Heritage Motor Coach Resort and Marina was doing great until April 20th. Now, in the wake of the disastrous oil spill, its owner is struggling to make ends meet.

"Our phones are not ringing and we're not getting reservations because of the oil spill in general and ... how the media has portrayed it," Duke Gibbs told Talk Radio News Friday. "Nine out of ten days on our resort there's not hint of oil, there's no smell of oil, but the spill in general has just killed our activity."

Gibbs' message was clear; the entire Gulf Coast is struggling from a misleading reputation stemming from the spill's impact. In fact, he said, the beaches where he is are clean, and the area is open for business.

"Over the last week I've seen a big difference in the amount of organization and cleanup effort ... our beaches look great ... they're responding quickly, and I also believe they're doing a much better job of containment out in the Gulf," said Gibbs.

The Country Music Channel will be hosting a free concert featuring Jimmy Buffett and Kenny Chesney in Orange Beach, Alabama on July 1st to raise awareness and demonstrate support for the Gulf Coast region. To commemorate the event, Gibbs' resort will be holding a "4 for 2" night special, to encourage tourists to visit the area.

Gibbs told Talk Radio News Service that the Alabama Gulf Coast has the same white sand beaches, shopping, and dining of bigger Gulf Coast resorts like Destin and Panama City, Florida, but without the crowds. Because of this, Gibbs considers it "the perfect destination."

"Our only hope is to try to remain positive and promote our businesses ... and at the same time hope that BP will do their part," said Gibbs.

Still, Gibbs is aware that the economic future of the Gulf Coast is still uncertain. When asked about his stance on the six-month moratorium imposed by the Obama administration in response to the spill, Gibbs explained that up to 50 percent of his clients' businesses are somehow tied to the oil industry, and "they believe [the moratorium] will do nothing but absolutely kill the entire Gulf Coast economy over in the Louisiana and Texas area."

Gibbs said he has filed a claim with BP, but because he opened his resort just in the past year, he cannot provide the oil giant with the three to four years' of documents it requested. Gibbs filed his request two and a half weeks ago, and has not yet received any sort of compensation.