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SPRING BREAK AND WAR DON’T MIX
By Lauren Woods
Spring Break may be broken.
With the outbreak of war with Iraq, the percentage of college students going on Spring Break has decreased. The Spring Break season usually lasts from late February through early April. As the end of the season is quickly approaching hotel and local businesses that depend on these vacationers dollars are scrambling to make ends meet.
Many spring breakers have had a tough decision to ask themselves: should I fly and face the danger of another terrorist attack? Everyone wants to be safe and cautious and just the sight of an airplane could bring to mind the pictures and news reports that flashed across the screen during the catastrophes of Sept. 11.
As war approached and terror warnings fluctuate, many students scrambled to salvage their Spring Break plans. Concerns voiced by their parents and student fears of flying have caused some to vacation closer to home or cancel plans all together.Meg Dickson, 22, a student at Marist College is very thankful that her and her friends arrived home from Spring Break safely.
“I couldn’t wait to get home and be close to my family,” Dickson said. “We all safely arrived home from Panama City Beach, Florida before President Bush spoke to the nation and declared war on Iraq that Wednesday night. Spring Break was fun but I thought a lot more people were going to be down there.”
Kathy Monahan, a travel agent at Liberty Travel Agency in Poughkeepsie, agrees that the number of college students going on Spring Break has decreased this year.
“The Spring Break travel industry has seen a decrease of about 10 percent,” Monahan said. “With the war and the poor economy, parents are less likely to be sending their kids away. This is hurting the travel industry and the businesses at the Spring Break hotspots.”States like Florida, where tourism generates 50 billion dollars a year as the largest component of its economy, the Iraq war could also have a serious financial impact. Tourism revenue is expected to possibly drop by 50 percent if the war continues for a prolonged period of time and if gasoline prices continue to soar Florida vacation sites will continue to suffer.
Laura Wasserman, a worker at The Ramada Hotel in Panama City, Florida is worried about financial loss her hotel is going to undergo.
“Something needs to be done if there is a drop in spring breakers,” Wasserman said. “I heard that Gov. Bush here in Florida is promoting a 40 billion dollar plan to help out the tourist industry. It includes a 20 million dollar marketing campaign to attract tourists and loans to help out small businesses.”
Places like Nevada are kicking off new marketing campaigns to portray places like Las Vegas as a destination for people to escape from the worries of war. These Spring Break and vacation hot spots are all open for business whether the U.S. is at war or not.