Gov. Charlie Crist says it's been a tough year for Florida's ecological attractions and the tourism industry directly impacted by it. But despite the oil disaster and controversy over the Everglades and overpriced U.S. Sugar Corp. land, hotel industry officials say they're making progress.

As if Northwest Florida coastal towns don't have enough problems, they were told earlier this week that the world's largest auto club issued a travel advisory urging its 50 million members to stay away from their beaches because of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

But a spokeswoman for the association insisted Wednesday there was no such travel advisory.

Gov. Charlie Crist requested in a letter to the U.S. Department of Commerce Wednesday that the federal government declare a commercial fishery failure in Florida due to the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The designation would pave the way for Florida to receive federal money to compensate for the losses the commercial and charter fishing industry sustains from the spill. Florida would be the fourth Gulf state to receive the designation since the BP-leased Deepwater Horizon oil rig sank more than a month ago.

Northwest Florida resorts, hotels and vacation rental properties are dusting off their best discounted rates and special offers in hopes they can fill properties with Fourth of July tourists.

Visitors to Florida will soon be able to find tourism hotspots on their iPhones and Blackberries.

Visit Florida, the state’s public-private tourism marketing corporation, is developing a mobile Web site so that visitors can research the best beaches as they stroll through historic St. Augustine or compare hotel rates while waiting to board Space Mountain at Walt Disney World.

A survey published Thursday by the American Automobile Association revealed that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has triggered a rise in the number of travelers who have canceled or otherwise changed their plans to visit Florida's Gulf Coast.