One Year Later, Gulf Oil Spill Continues to Impede Gulf Progress

Regional Economy
According to different resources, tourism has rebounded in some of the cities along the Gulf of Mexico. That is in part due to more than $117 million that BP set aside for Gulf Coast tourism in 2010. New Orleans, for example experienced a small economic boom the summer after the spill. Hotel occupancy in New Orleans was at 100% occupancy, according to Nola.com.
Yet, that boom wasn’t widespread or lasting and it didn’t change the circumstances of individuals who earned a living in the seafood industry. Approximately 71% of consumers are still concerned about the safety of consuming Gulf seafood, and 23% reported having reduced their seafood consumption as a result of the oil spill, according to the NAACP report.
Also, BP’s own figures on diversity suppliers reflect a disparity in opportunities afforded to minority contractors seeking to recover from the disaster, explained Ernest Johnson, NAACP’s State Conference President for Louisiana. Compared to $181 million in small business enterprise contracts awarded overall to address this disaster, reportedly only$7.6m was spent through minority contractors.