Gulf Oil Spill and the Hospitality Industry

Gulf Oil Spill and the Hospitality Industry

  • Submitted By: LPaige
  • Date Submitted: 06/26/2011 4:39 PM
  • Category: History Other
  • Words: 651
  • Page: 3
  • Views: 444

The Hospitality Industry on the Gulf Oil Spill

Lauren M. Paige

Headlines may reflect the oil spills unfortunate affect on the animals and communities surrounding the area but not many headlines reflect the hotel and tourism industries potential costly hit. As the oil industry takes major backlash on the mistakes made, more importantly the ones that make a living on boating or those who are in the restaurant industry are the ones who will feel the biggest decrease in income.
During the peak summer months when the desire for seafood is high and vacationing to the Gulf of Mexico or surrounding communities, this year while be the start of many summer seasons and years of higher priced seafood and decreased travel to such places feeling the pinch. Even those places such as Orlando and places that thrive on their seafood sales to get them through the winter will feel the pinch. Some Mom and Pop restaurants who service the all-you-can eat buffet seafood patrons will either have to increase prices or go out of business due to the oil spill.
Although in some reports the hospitality industry has yet to see a decrease in hotel sales and restaurant goers, hotels and other tourism opportunists do not see the full ramifications of the oil spill and what it will do to business until it is already too late. An article in the Times – Picayune describes the worry as how hard the restaurants will have to push meat and poultry dishes to patrons.
All areas of the hospitality industry are suffering. But the working class such as waiters and waitresses will be confronted with such issues as taking on possibly second or third jobs just to make up the difference in lack of wages. The ones I see that are taking the major hit are those who are in some way related to the funds received by boating for shrimp and fishing. Since I have such love for seafood I certainly relate to the restaurant businesses and how they will suffer during this transition period into limited local...

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