Repair shops along the Gulf Coast have seen a decrease in business as tourists are staying away this summer. However, shop owners are hoping that all the jobs that have been created by BP to clean up the oil spill will help boost the local economy.
Below is the article as it appeared on the WLOX ABC Channel 13 website.
Car repair businesses stuck in neutral because of oil spill
Posted: Jul 05, 2010 5:25 PM
Updated: Jul 05, 2010 6:21 PM
By Doug Walker
OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) – At Bobby Tyson’s Auto Repair in Ocean Springs, workers are busy doing the usual car repair chores. But there are fewer tires to change these days, and fewer repairs to make because fewer people are visiting the coast.
"Tourism has dropped down and it’s hurt us," owner Bobby Tyson explained. "The hotels would call us and say, ‘I have this person from out of town, their car is broken, it broke on the way down here, can we get it fixed?’"
Tyson estimates he has lost 75 percent of his usual summer tourist business. Because of that, he’s going to do what hundreds of other business owners have done for the past two months.
"So far as my business, I won’t have a choice but to file a claim," Tyson said. "My accountant is putting the numbers together right now. All I can do is count out of town addresses that I had last year as compared to this year. That is the only true way to see how much it has affected my business."
To read the entire article, visit the WLOX ABC Channel 13 website at http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=12757188.
