Miami Beach lodging, Miami tourism

Unaffected by the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, Miami tourism and Miami hotels occupancy increased again last week, according to a study done by a travel research company.

According to the state Department of Environmental Protection, winds and currents have kept Florida’s coast safe from the BP spill. And according to some, Miami tourism and the Miami Beach lodging industry might not be affected at all by the oil spill.

Jim Lushine, from the National Weather Service in Miami has studied the Gulfstream for 15 years. He says it is doubtful that the oil will reach Miami’s coast considering the gulfs loop current and southeasterly winds. Lushine said, ``It would be hard to get anything to move back toward the southeast against the wind.”

The one exception would possibly be independent currents that run against the main current. These currents, also known as “loop” currents, are part of the Gulf Stream and flow northward between Cuba, past Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula then join the Florida current and exiting through the Florida Straits. They could trap oil at one point then release it closer to Florida’s coast line. However, Lushine says the beaches on the northwest part of Cuba are more likely to see oil wash ashore than South Florida.

When asked if the oil got carried South by the loop current would there be a chance it could ``bounce off'' the coast of Cuba, but some of it might make the turn and enter the Straits of Florida. Lushine responded by saying Miami-Dade and Broward County beaches would not likely be seriously affected because oil would then be captured in the Gulfstream, which runs north along Florida's coast.

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