According to travel companies, the economic recession is not affecting the number of students getting ready to travel for spring break this year.

Some 30,000 people are expected to visit Cancun this year, the same as in 2008, according to the Quintana Roo Tourism Office.

Cancun is one of the most popular spring break destinations. It is home to many bars and night clubs, many of which are open all night. Since it is such a tourist hot-spot, it is easy for students to get around without trouble.

According to DoCancun.com, a travel company, “Cancun is the safest city of its size in Mexico and spends a good part of its yearly budget on different kinds of training programs for local police and promotional campaigns to protect all our tourists. It has a lower crime rate than most small cities in the U.S.”

Acapulco, Mexico, is another popular destination. The number of students vacationing there have not been severely affected by the city’s high crime rates.

In 2007, two Canadian tourists were accidentally shot, and another teenager was killed in a highly disputed accident. The authorities say was that the teen was killed by a taxi hit-and-run, but the family claims was a beating. Nevertheless, every spring break students flock to the tropical Pacific resort.

Students are attracted by the big-party atmosphere of the resorts. Statistics are difficult to come by, as teenagers are often reticent to divulge information about their party habits to pollsters. However, some statistics on spring breakers in Cancun claim that the average male consumes 18 alcoholic drinks a day, and the average female 10 a day.

Around 40-50% of these drank until they passed out or became sick.

Drinking is not the only thing students do on spring break. A report from the American Medical Association noted that “more than half of college students know friends who were sexually active with more than one partner during spring break and nearly 3 out of 5 women know friends who had unprotected sex during spring break.”

However, it should be said that not all college students go to Mexico or the Caribbean.

Atle Skalleberg of StudentUniverse.com, an online travel agency, told the Associated Press that there is an increased demand for trips to Asia, Australia, France, Italy, Spain, and the UK.

He said, “The exchange rate is still not great for Americans but it is [getting] a lot better and that seems to be enough.”

Many students are also deciding to spend their breaks closer to home. According to Travelocity, the top three spring break destinations are Las Vegas, Orlando, and South Florida.

Panama City Beach, Florida, has traditionally been one of the most popular tourist destinations in the state. In 2008, an estimated 200,000 visitors came during March and April, despite the Tourist Development Council cutting advertising funding by half.

Because of the country’s economic situation, the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau is planning on increasing their advertising for this year. Dan Rowe, CEO of the bureau, told the Associated Press, “In addition to college students … we’re really gearing out activities and marketing to families.”

Another increasing trend for college students is to volunteer for community service over their spring break. Steven Roy Goodman, a leading educational consultant, noted that spring break volunteering has been growing exponentially.

The Associated Press quotes him as saying, “President Obama was just elected. There has been a real resurgence of a spirit of service.”

Patrick Evans of STA Travel commented that many students are interested in volunteer trips to New Orleans, Honduras, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, or the Peace Corps.

Jason Chute, director of operations for StudentCity.com, a travel agency catering especially to students going on spring break, told the Associated Press, “Typically the student business is more resilient to the economy because it’s like a once in a lifetime trip. A lot of times kids will go no matter what.”

Our Take

In the current economic climate, spring break tourism is certainly not a bad thing. Students are going to be celebrating in March or April no matter what, and encouraging tourism can be a good way to support a local economy.

In 2008, visitors to Panama City Beach during March or April spent an average of $65 per day per person. In addition to hotel and travel fares, spring break gets a lot of money circulating that might otherwise be saved.