Florida's tourism not to pick back up until 2012

Sean Snaith, an economist from University of Central Florida, has weighed in on the trade group study that said Florida’s tourism industry could stand to lose up to $18.6 billion for the damaging BP oil spill.

In his latest statewide declaration, Snaith said he concurs with the general conclusion reached by the U.S. Travel Association: The spill will be detrimental to state revenues over time. However, Snaith believes the numbers may be exaggerated a bit.

Nevertheless, Snaith said the spill has slowed Florida’s economic recovery for at least a year, and he predicted that Florida’s leisure and hospitality won’t continue to develop until 2012.

Source: Orlando Sentinel