Florida works to bring back tourism to its Gulf Coast following hurricanes Helene and Milton

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Tourism officials on Florida's Gulf Coast say one of the ways concerned people can help the area recover is to visit as tourists, even though some beaches are still closed to the public and debris is still piled next to streets from recent hurricanes Helene and Milton.

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 Friday in the news release. “You can also pitch in at beach cleanups, attend fundraisers and donate.”

In Clearwater, officials say the beach is open. They plan to announce Tuesday that lifeguards and normal beach operations are returning, city spokeswoman Joelle Wiley Castelli said.

“People are starting to go back out and into the water and it appears that about half the businesses and half the parking lots are back open,” she said Monday in an email.

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 $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.