Amid concerns that the BP oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico has hurt tourism in areas of Florida where crude has yet to reach, Gov. Charlie Crist on Monday paid a visit to Miami Beach and pledged to fund an advertising campaign touting the state's still-pristine beaches.

Well-tanned and with his arm around Miami Beach Mayor Matti Herrera Bower, Crist stepped onto the shores of South Beach and proclaimed the waters beautiful and oil-free.

``The reason we come out to this gorgeous beach today is to show everybody just how clean it is,'' Crist said, surrounded by a gaggle of media and confused sunbathers.

Crist's beach jaunt -- slacks, dress shirt and all -- came after a stop Monday morning at the Loews Hotel, where the governor fielded questions from Miami Beach politicians, state representatives, and business lobbyists and executives.
But despite the governor's dedication to a PR campaign to court big-spending European tourists in-part with some of the $50 million Florida has received from BP, Crist said beaches aren't at the top of the list when it comes to prevention efforts.

Crist said the state's marshes, wetlands and estuaries will have priority. Beaches, he said, are the easiest to clean.

``Nobody wants to hear that, but it's a scientific fact,'' he said.

That was sobering news for those who hoped to hear specifics on preventive measures should oil in the Gulf's loop current make its way around the Florida Keys and onto the eastern seaboard.

Crist also offered little in specifics, saying simply that more than 300,000 feet of oil-sopping boom have been deployed already and ``we're not going anywhere.'' He emphasized the importance of local Emergency Operation Centers and said Florida has learned from the issues Louisiana now faces with its own cleanup.

But that left some who attended the meeting in the lurch, still wondering how oil will be treated and what they should do.

Andrew Hertz, general manager of the Miami Seaquarium, said the Virginia Key marine-life park could be devastated if oil reaches Biscayne Bay. The Seaquarium uses bay water to house its wildlife, and may have to take drastic and expensive measures -- such as closing off its water system -- to protect its assets.

``We don't have it in our budget to make sea water like Sea World does,'' Hertz said, estimating the cost of doing so at about $5 million. Hertz later said he ``has no direction'' yet on how to proceed.

Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce Chairman Aaron Perry said after the meeting that he is still waiting to hear specifics on a potential oil cleanup and prevention plan.

``I feel confident the governor has our best interest at heart but I did not hear of a plan today that would make me feel any more confident if God forbid the oil makes it to Miami Beach,'' Perry said.

Crist and other authorities have found themselves on a thin line between preparing for disaster and comforting tourists.

Crist leaned toward the latter.

``People get scared and almost get more afraid of what's scaring them than they should,'' he said, emphasizing '`reason'' over ``fear.''

Crist on Monday also said he has tapped former attorney generals Bob Butterworth and James Smith to help quicken the claims process.

He also complimented the Obama administration's plans to set up a BP escrow account for claims and told State Sen. Dan Gelber, D-Miami Beach, that he would consider Gelber's suggestion that Florida create a claims liaison for its businesses.

Crist also poked at Marco Rubio, an opponent in the governor's bid for U.S. Senate, saying Rubio still supports off-shore drilling.

``This is the clearest wake-up call to stop drilling,'' he said.