Right now, in the middle of summer break from school, a multitude of beaches in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida are contaminated with hazardous crude oil from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, while the U.S. Virgin Islands' beaches remain pristine. Pictures of oil-soaked, dying pelicans along the Gulf Coast are nightly news fodder, while a stroll along the beach in Frederiksted on any given afternoon will turn up a dozen or more big, healthy pelicans fishing in the surf and roosting in shore-side trees.         

               Is the Department of Tourism or one of the territory's two hotel and tourism associations using our distance from the spill as a selling point? And is it appropriate or a good idea for the territory to emphasize that St. Croix, St. Thomas and St. John still have pristine, oil-free beaches and crystal clear water as a way draw some more visitors?  

               Tourism officials were wary of discussing the matter, apparently feeling it may seem crass or insensitive to take advantage of the catastrophe. And no V.I. ads make any direct mention of the spill. At the most recent meeting of the St. Croix Hotel and Tourism Association, the group's president Lisa Hamilton said the question had come up among members and she cautiously approached Tourism. They looked over their ads and decided to make no changes in response.

               "The existing ads do highlight our beautiful beaches," Hamilton said. "So we are not saying 'hey look, we don't have oil,' but we are showing we have beautiful beaches and those ads are playing right now on CNN."

               Why is there so much caution and circumspection? Well, it could seem heartless, depending on how it is handled. After all, day after day for three months now, images of blobs of tar floating in yellow-brown surf crashing on Gulf Coast beaches have filled the nation's television screens, evidence of the impact of the worst oil spill and worst environmental disaster in U.S. history. The environmental and economic impacts are gigantic. Fisheries are closed indefinitely, jobs are being lost, breeding grounds ruined. And during the peak of the nation's beach vacation season, the oil is driving away visitors in droves, sucking away hundreds of millions, even billions of dollars in tourist revenues from a region already hurting economically. No one wants to rub salt into the wounds of Gulf Coast residents.

               Also handling it wrong can and already has created a backlash. Spirit Airlines put out ads for Cancun, Atlantic City and other destinations, saying "check out the oil on our beaches," featuring attractive women slathered in suntan oil.  TV news shows, blogs and major newspapers all highlighted the ad, either condemning the ad as tasteless or asking various experts if they thought it was crass. After the tut-tutting in the national media, Spirit Airlines pulled the ads.          

               But is it actually heartless to use our clear water and clean beaches as a selling point when so many beaches are contaminated?  Not if it isn't done in a heartless way, I say. Tens of millions of Americans visit the Gulf Coast beaches every summer. This year, many of those are making other plans. They are going somewhere. If we attract a few of those folks to the U.S. Virgin Islands, we are not stealing them away, just rescuing their summer vacation. And because the U.S. Virgin Islands is small, even a tiny slice of that market could mean a substantial increase in hotel and restaurant business.

               True, the Spirit Airlines ad comes across as insensitive and crass - because it makes a salacious joke about the spill. And it produced a backlash. Yet simply making a direct, dry statement about how ocean currents will not bring the oil here, combined with photos of crystal clear seas would hardly be offensive, especially if accompanied by some expression of sympathy.

               Oh, and that offensive Spirit ad-it brought in major media attention,  giving the company and the ad far more exposure than it would have had.  The controversy has not hurt the airline's bookings or bottom line one bit.

               So push the territory's oil-free beaches. Let the world know the U.S. Virgin Islands has crystal clear water where you can swim with healthy, happy sea turtles and stroll on clean beaches while pelicans swoop and fish nearby.