Obama, on his fifth visit to the region since BP's deep-sea well in the Gulf of Mexico ruptured on April 20, held talks with local business owners to hear their concerns about the impact of the world's worst offshore oil spill.
Declaring Gulf Coast beaches "open for business," US president Barack Obama visited Florida on Saturday and pledged to restore the economy and the environment of the region damaged by the BP oil spill.
Obama, on his fifth visit to the region since BP's deep-sea well in the Gulf of Mexico ruptured on April 20, held talks with local business owners to hear their concerns about the impact of the world's worst offshore oil spill.
"I will not be satisfied until the environment has been restored, no matter how long it takes," he told reporters after the meeting.
The president and his family are on a weekend trip to Panama City as part of a drive to encourage more tourists to visit Florida's famous white sand beaches, which have suffered only minor damage from the spill, mostly in the form of scattered tar balls and small oil patches.
"I also want to point out that as a result of the cleanup effort, beaches all along the Gulf Coast are clean and safe and open for business," he said.
Obama's approval ratings have been dented by public discontent, especially in Gulf Coast communities, over his administration's response to the spill.
It came under fire early on in the crisis for appearing to cede too much responsibility for management of the spill to BP, which repeatedly tried to downplay the size of the disaster. The administration has struggled to shake off that perception despite scrambling to try to recover lost ground.
BP is to finish drilling a relief well to kill the blown-out Macondo well, which was provisionally capped a month ago after spewing an estimated 4.9 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
In his remarks on Saturday, the president said he considered "unacceptable" any delays by BP or officials in paying claims to individuals affected by the spill.
Obama had come under pressure to spend part of his summer vacation in the Gulf region to show solidarity with the thousands of fishermen and people in the tourist industry whose livelihoods have been threatened by the spill.
While Florida escaped largely unscathed, other states such as Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama were hard hit and are the focus of BP's cleanup operations.
Leaking oil seeped into ecologically sensitive wetlands and marshes, soiled miles of beaches and forced the closure of rich fishing grounds.
Hotel owners, tour operators and other businesses have submitted thousands of damages claims to BP, claiming that the spill has kept many tourists away during the lucrative summer season. The British company has set up a $20 billion fund to handle the claims.
The first family's trip to Panama City will likely be a boost for local tourism officials, who have been trying to counter the perception that Florida's beaches were sullied by the oil that blackened other parts of the Gulf coastline.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}