Negativity abounds as news media paint a portrait of oil-stained beaches that are as empty and deserted as a ghost town.

Though the Alabama Public Health Department has issued a swimming advisory for local coastal areas affected by the Deepwater Horizon Spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the beaches are still open for business.

Kim Chapman, public relations manager for the Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the swimming advisory only means discouragement from swimming in the water, not from enjoying what the beach has to offer entirely.

“Our beaches are very much open — guests are still able to go down to the beaches and enjoy sand, sunbathe, play Frisbee, volleyball,” she said.

Chapman said national media coverage appears to be detracting from that very message, which they are trying to relay not only to locals but tourists.

That’s why the CVB has established a website to post current and verified information on the oil spill crisis, how its affecting the beaches and what visitors are still able to do during their beach vacation. The website is www.thebeachfacts.com.

“We are posting information for inquisitive minds, for those who want to know what the current status of the beach is,” Chapman said. “On this page, people will find our daily updates, specific to Gulf Shores and Orange Beach.

“People can cut through the noise and the clutter that’s out there.”

The website includes a daily two-minute YouTube clip of the current status of the beach.

The CVB is also relying on social networks, such as Facebook, to get the word out on the oil spill, and she said responses have been positive. She said there have been posts on their Facebook page thanking the CVB for their reliable information, that the beaches are not what the national media portrays, and tourists who have visited the beach are thankful they did not cancel their vacation.

Additionally, Chapman also urged that restaurants are not closed and seafood is still being served.

“I haven’t heard of anything being pulled from menus,” she said. “Restaurants are very much open and are serving hungry customers.”

So in spite of the oil crisis, things are not as critical or dire as what people may be led to believe.

“We are relying on our loyal guests who have watched family members grow up generation to generation on our beaches to come back,” Chapman said.

The swimming advisory is in effect for gulf waters off Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Fort Morgan. The public health department recently extended the advisory to include bay waters adjacent to Fort Morgan, Bayou St. John, Terry Cove, Cotton Bayou and Old River.