Tourism officials on Florida’s Gulf Coast say one of the ways concerned people can help the area recover from recent hurricanes Helene and Milton is to visit as tourists. The tourism promotion agency for the St. Petersburg-Clearwater area said in a news release that 80% of hotels and businesses in the area are open for business, even as clean-up and recovery continues.

“Many people have asked, ‘How can I help?’ and the answer is this: Come visit and support our local businesses when they need you most,” Visit St. Pete-Clearwater said in the release. “You can also pitch in at beach cleanups, attend fundraisers and donate.”

Helene made landfall as a category 4 storm in Florida’s Big Bend region last month, and Milton made landfall earlier this month as a category 3 hurricane on a barrier island in Sarasota County.

The state tourism promotion agency says it plans to spend US$5.7 million to promote Florida as a tourism destination following the hurricanes.

The campaign’s first phase will focus on social media promotion of areas of Florida that were comparatively untouched by the storms, such as Pensacola, Panama City Beach and Islamorada in the Florida Keys.

The second phase will spend $3 million promoting areas impacted by the storms but already have recovered such as Naples and Fort Myers.

The last phase will offer direct marketing assistance to the counties most affected by the storms in the St. Petersburg and Sarasota areas, and rural areas in the Panhandle, according to Visit Florida.

If you enjoyed or found this story useful, we’d appreciate if you would forward it to a colleague or friend who may also enjoy it. If, on the other hand, a friend shared it with you, welcome! You can get all the latest travel news and reviews from Travel Industry by simply clicking HERE.