As the beach balls, oranges and conch shells drop on New Year’s Eve in Florida, most will remember 2010 as a rough year for Floridians, financially speaking. The BP Oil Spill took its toll on Florida businesses by dampening sales for tourism related industries, and trickled down to restaurants and retailers as well. The Florida Panhandle was devastated by oil that continues to wash ashore. It wasn’t the news Jimmy Buffet was looking for as he opened his Margaritaville hotel in Pensacola. Businesses and individuals who were harmed by the largest oil spill in history have yet to be compensated fairly by the Gulf Coast Claims Facility headed by Ken Feinberg, and may never be. At least President Obama has imposed an oil drilling moratorium that will protect Floridians in the near future.

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Retailers are optimistic this Holiday Season as consumers appear to be opening their wallets more this year. Sales are up 6.2% for Holiday sales according to Bloomberg. Online retail sales figures are up 36% this year, however some Florida retailers and politicians aren’t happy about that.

Tourism is also boosted this season with Florida Christmas Events and lights on displays. Florida theme parks and attractions like Disney and Universal Studios have themed events. At Disney World Christmas events, Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, Santa’s Sleigh Parade down Main Street, U.S.A. plus a sparkling ice castle and symphony of dazzling lights.

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I have a friend who loves Halloween, it’s his favorite holiday. He has a big yard and every year it was decorated to look like a graveyard with tombstones and ghosts hanging from the trees and spooky music with scary sounds cued to go off when someone started up the driveway, every year it got better, except for the last two. He scaled back, using less cobwebs in a can, and his speakers sounded blown. The economy of the last few years has taken a hit, that’s for sure but this year things are looking up and retailers are counting on Halloween to be the start of spending for this year’s holiday season.

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Gulf Coast Claims Facility Administrator Kenneth R. Feinberg today announced the Gulf Coast Claims Facility (GCCF) is fully functioning and will begin to process claims for emergency payment. All individual and business claims and supporting documentation have been transferred from BP to the GCCF, which is an independent facility run by Feinberg.

The GCCF was established in June as part of an agreement between the Obama Administration and BP to assist claimants in filing claims for costs and damages incurred as a result of the oil spill stemming from the Deepwater Horizon Incident of April 20, 2010. Claims previously filed with the BP Claims Process have been transitioned to the new GCCF Claims Facility for review, evaluation and determination, however claimants will be required to file new forms with the GCCF to receive payments.

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First there was the BP-Deepwater Horizon disaster and the impact to Florida beaches, now we’re hearing fear being trumped up by the media of Dengue Fever. As if the Florida Travel industry needs anymore bad news.

What is Dengue Fever?

Dengue fever is spread by mosquitoes and is starting to show up in South Florida. According to MedlinePlus:

Dengue fever begins with a sudden high fever, often as high as 104 - 105 degrees Fahrenheit. A flat, red rash may appear over most of the body 2 - 5 days after the fever starts. A second rash, which looks like the measles, appears later in the disease. Infected people may have increased skin sensitivity and are very uncomfortable. Other symptoms include; headache, fatigue, joint aches, muscle aches, nausea, swollen lymph nodes and vomiting.

The Florida Keys and Key West have been ground zero of the dengue fever outbreak. Business, health and tourism officials are already getting phone calls about the threat.

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