Oil spill kills July 4th holiday business in the Gulf Coast: video, weather; A Whale skimmer idle

Oil cleanup crews outnumber vacationers in Pensacola, FL.

Dan Anderson / EPA See more photos in the slide show below.

The beach towns of the Gulf Coast claim regulars are down as much as 60 to 80 percent. The drop in business expected for the entire summer includes huge revenue losses from Mississippi, Alabama, and spreading east through Florida. Despite efforts in a tourism campaign, Panama City may see half of what they expected this summer. On the flip side, WESH is reporting that places like Daytona Beach on Florida's east coast may be picking up the added business. See more photos in the slide show below.

For many resort and vacation spots, the 4th of July and Independence Day holiday vacations can make or break a summer. In addition to the oil spill, bad weather may hurt the region this weekend. See the latest forecast for the Gulf oil spill region, which shows waves that may spread more oil to more of Florida. High waves over 5 feet have kept oil skimmers in dock, allowing for even more oil to spread.

The best hope for skimming is currently sitting idle in the Gulf. A Whale, a Taiwanese ship the size of three and a half football fields, is waiting for approval form the US Coast Guard. It claims to be able to skim 300-400 thousand barrels of oil per day, but that has not been proven yet. See more pictures and video here.

Watch this report from ABC's Good Morning America on how the spill has taken the busy out of summer holiday business.

BP and Coast Guard Attempts to Contain the Oil Spill

LMRP Cap Top Kill Riser Insertion Tube and Skimming Cofferdam Containment Unit COAST GUARD VIDEOS Gas Flaring (Burning) Coast Guard Skimming

 

See more on the ship and relief well efforts in the video report below.

See the latest pictures of bird rescues and oil impact along the gulf in this slide show.

See the latest reports:

Closed fisheries and marine deaths

See the Live streaming video and Oil Spill Counter (Interactive) in the Gulf of Mexico here.

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