President Obama on the Gulf Coast: ‘Come Down Here and Visit’

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  06.14.10 | 4:38 PM ET

The POTUS is visiting the Gulf Coast today—and he’s urging other Americans to do the same. USA Today’s The Oval blog quotes Obama:

There’s still a lot of opportunity for visitors to come down here. There are a lot of beaches that have not been affected and will not be affected. If people want to help, the best way to help is to come down here and visit.

The Oval dubs the suggestion “oil spill tourism,” but I’m not sure voyeur-style disaster tourism is quite what Obama has in mind. Still, whether it comes in the form of beachgoers who manage to avoid the spill or the morbidly curious aiming to witness its effects, it’s good to see tourism to the beleaguered area being encouraged.

Can’t make it in person anytime soon? World Hum contributor Robert Reid is tweeting from the Florida panhandle. Elsewhere, The Big Picture has a sobering photo essay illustrating the spill’s effects nearly two months in.

Tags: Dark Tourism, Eco Travel, Tourism, North America, United States, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


4 Comments for President Obama on the Gulf Coast: ‘Come Down Here and Visit’

Suzi 06.14.10 | 11:49 PM ET

One of the unfortunate outcomes of trouble/disaster is that people tend to stay away once it hits. It’s understandable, of course - if you’re looking for a beautiful vacation on the beach, you don’t want it ruined by an oil spill - but what an area really needs when it’s had a spot of trouble or a major disaster is for people to come and spend their money so things can get fixed.  Hopefully in this case, BP will be spending LOTS of money in the Gulf states to help fix this latest disaster! Thanks for the post!!

Mike Richard 06.15.10 | 5:05 AM ET

This is the great move taken by Amrican President Mr. Obama..i am sure it will help to improve visitors in Gulf Coast..

Grizzly Bear Mom 06.18.10 | 11:32 AM ET

I dunno, it is like President Bush saying spend money after 9/11?

Akumal Villas 06.24.10 | 3:58 PM ET

Really interesting. Hopefully the mess will start to get cleared up soon, but really, I’m not sure people are going to trust him enough to actually go.
-Micah

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