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OCEAN ISLAND BEACH, N.C. -- There may be more visitors than usual heading to North Carolina's coast this holiday weekend. The oil spill along the Gulf Coast has some people turning to beaches in the the Tarheel State as an alternative destination.

The Winds Resort Beach Club in Ocean Isle Beach has already experienced a big boost in business and expects to be busier all summer. "I've had a lot of phone calls about people booking just for the whole summer because of the oil spill in the Gulf," said the hotel's reservationist Beth Turner. "They ask whether we've been impacted by it and of course we haven't yet."

Director of Travel Marketing Wit Tuttell for the North Carolina Department of Commerce said he has also heard of some vacationers who altered their plans to come here. "We don’t expect it to be a major increase, but realize that it is a situation where people are worried about the results of the spill," Tuttell said in statement.

In Holden Beach, Mayor Alan Holden spoke with at least a dozen people interested in renting homes through his rental company. "They've never been here before," Holden said. "They've been going to the Gulf Coast. They were concerned about their reservations that were already in place. And they were about to make reservations."

Along the Crystal Coast, the visitors bureau said they also have a few people who ditched their plans on the Gulf Coast to enjoy Atlantic and Emerald Isle Beach.

Once new visitors see what North Carolina's coast has to offer, Holden expects they'll be back. "I think if we can get them the first time, they'll be coming back for years and years," he said.

Tuttell expects a lot of summer beach traffic and advises vacationers to plan ahead as much as possible.