The usual get-away-and-relax mentality of college spring break is one thing that hasn't disappeared during this recession. However, students are finding less exotic (and, in turn, less expensive) places to unwind from midterms as well as gear up for the end of the semester.
Popular spring break destinations south of the border have seen a decline in visitors, particularly to Cancun, Mexico. According to a recent Time article, travel to Cancun is down 22% from previous years, due to the cost of travel outside of the country and travel advisories in place due to increased drug violence throughout Mexico. In addition, travel website Expedia.com indicated that spring break flights to the Caribbean are down in revenue by 20%.
Not surprisingly, students do not seem willing to pay the approximately $1,100 to go on a traditional seven-day trip, opting for cheaper and/or shorter break options. One way to reduce the price of a spring break trip is to travel within the U.S. rather than venturing abroad. Expedia reports that flights to Orlando, New York, and Los Angeles for the spring break period have increased by 25%. UMBC sophomore Durand Richards stayed within Maryland, spending his vacation with friends in Ocean City. "My friend has a place down there. We just wanted to go somewhere and get away from school, parents, and just this general area."
Richard Blissett, also a sophomore, traveled to Mantoloking, New Jersey with some friends from his floor. Blissett and his friends were able to keep their break plans on the cheap: "We knew someone with a house up there, which made it cheaper. All we had to pay for was food and gas."
Katy Travers, a junior, and Chad Zobrisky, a sophomore, decided to spend their breaks with their respective families, which allowed them time to wind down from midterms while not spending a lot of money. Travers used her spring break to hike in Pickens, South Carolina, while Zobrisky headed home to Calvert County to relax. Zobrisky, however, acknowledged that if traveling did not cost so much money these days, he might have gone somewhere else, remarking, "If there had been some cheaper deals for trips over break, probably more of my friends would have wanted to go somewhere."
Spring break seems too valuable a resource for students to forgo altogether, and so many searched for cheaper alternatives. UMBC students were able to do an Alternative Spring Break (ASB) experience, which granted them the opportunity to stay on campus while traveling to service sites to do work in the community to benefit others. The article "Spring Break, Recession Style: Staying Close to Home" in Time cited UMBC's own Jordanna Spencer, Graduate Coordinator for Service and Volunteerism, who said that 30 UMBC students participated in ASB. Through the ASB program, students needed to pay only $75 for the week, which included on-campus housing as well as meals. Last year, a similar experience would have cost $350, so student volunteers this year did not break the bank this time around for their vacation. Nationwide, service spring breaks saw an increase in participation, up from 48,000 participants in 2007 to 65,000 this year.
Whether students are scaling back their breaks, or not leaving town at all, spring break is a necessity that will not be disappearing any time soon, despite the recession.