BP Gives N.W. Florida $30-Million for Post-Spill Tourism Recovery

BP pledged $30-million Monday to help the Florida panhandle’s tourism industry bounce back from the damage caused by last year’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill, CNN and the Orlando Sentinel report.

The three-year grant to the Northwest Florida Tourism Council, announced Monday by Gov. Rick Scott’s office, will be used to help attract visitors to seven counties affected by the disaster.

A spokesman for the oil company said it has spent $82-million to increase tourism and assist seafood testing and marketing in Florida since the April 2010 explosion at a BP-owned drilling rig.