BP Spill May Cost Travel, Tourism Industries $23 Bln - Study

The BP oil spill could cost the Gulf region almost $23 billion in lost travel and tourism revenue with its effect lasting up to three years, according to a study released Thursday by Oxford Economics and the U.S. Travel Association. To help an area where some 400,000 jobs are reliant on tourism, Oxford and U.S. Travel also called for BP (BP, BP.LN) to spend up to $500 million for an "aggressive and comprehensive" marketing effort to tout the Gulf as a destination. "Travel is a perception business and the impact of disasters like the BP oil spill on the industry is actually predictable," said Roger Dow, president of U.S. Travel. "We know from this research that the oil spill will have long-term effects on businesses and jobs in the Gulf Coast region unless we counteract the usual course of events with an unprecedented response." -William Spain; 415-439-6400; AskNewswires@dowjones.com Order free Annual Report for BP plc Visit http://djnewswires.ar.wilink.com/?link=BP or call 1-888-301-0513 (END) Dow Jones Newswires July 22, 2010 15:16 ET (19:16 GMT)