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.

Tourist industry officials aren't taking any chances. It's peak season, and with the Gulf oil spill scaring even their regular seasonal clientele, they're trying to come up with an antidote -- something to help travelers book up and have the same good time at the beach they've always had.

For the past couple of years, the tourism industry in the Panhandle has been struggling to attract thrifty travelers who have put off making the journey. Popular travel agency American Automobile Association has predicted that tourism nationwide is expected to jump by 17 percent for the long weekend, but it also reported that a small population of travelers has canceled plans to travel to Florida’s Gulf Coast because of the spill.

Hotels throughout Florida have been cutting their rates since mid-May, and they likely will continue to do so, Jennifer Gaines, contributing editor to online travel resource Travelocity, said in an e-mail. Hotel rates in Fort Walton Beach have plummeted by 23 percent; rates in Panama City are down 11 percent, and Pensacola rates have been flat since mid-May.

The Seascape Resort and Conference Center in Destin has cut rental rates by as much as 25 percent for the Fourth of July and coming days, said group sales director Michael Whalen.

Normally, the condo resort needs little promotion to sell its Independence Day reservations, but this year, travelers monitoring the spill from afar are taking time and heavy consideration before confirming Northwest travel plans. The resort is going to have a 99 percent occupancy rate for the weekend, Whalen said.

“We normally would sell out for Fourth of July early in June, but this year we didn’t until last week,” he said.

Sandestin Beach and Golf Resort in Northwest Florida is expecting an occupancy rate in the 90 percent range for the upcoming weekend, said spokesperson Laurie Hobbs. Still, the resort has taken a hit this year.

“Cancellations are slightly higher than they were last year,” she said. 

The resort has offered specials to counter the ill effects of the spill, like allowing guests to stay on the Fourth of July for free if they checked in Thursday, and allowing guests who stay four nights to stay the fifth night for free. The resort is also emphasizing other amenities onsite and nearby, to show there are other things to do besides visiting the beach.

The statewide tourism industry, which generated $65 billion in 2008, has been sweating press coverage of the spill that sometimes makes the oil’s impact on Panhandle shores seem worse than it actually is. Tar balls, tar patties and other forms of goo from the oil spill have washed up since late May on Northwest Florida shores and in waters from Pensacola Beach to Panama City.

The beaches have remained open for the most part, and serviced by cleanup crews, although there has been one temporary full closure of a beach section and a swimming health-advisory was issued Thursday for all of Escambia County’s waters.

Even hotels south of the Panhandle are cutting their rates.

Since mid-May, Key West hotels have dropped their rates by 13 percent, and Fort Myers has cut its rates by 16 percent, according to Travelocity.

Discounting rates and using special offers are going to be necessary measures long after the holiday weekend for Northwest Florida.

“You pretty much have to (cut prices),” said Jinks Dupree, property manager at Navarre Beach Campgrounds.

Starting after the holiday, the camping lodge site and RV park is going to offer a “100 percent satisfaction guarantee” to draw visitors. If visitors are not having fun, they get all their money back, Jinks said. The site has 80 to 90 percent occupancy for this weekend, Jinks said, but it is seeing a decrease in people who are choosing to stay for longer periods of time. Travelers from other states are deciding the long drive isn’t worth it, she said.

“I’m trying to let them know there are things going on other than the beach,” she said.

Reach Alex Tiegen at atiegen@sunshinestatenews.com or (561) 329-5389.