Alyssa Czerwinski
Mr. Reuter
Economics
29 February 2016
Spring Break
Spring break is an excuse used by many college students to leave their universities for a week and escape to a warmer area. These students dish out hundreds if not thousands of dollars going to to popular areas such as Cancun, Mexico, or Destin, FL. Even though there is opportunity cost in whether to stay home or to leave, with the idea of having fun on their minds, students do not realize how much their vacation have effect on revenue on local and national economies.
Since “ 1934, Sam Ingram, a Colgate College swim coach, was looking for a warm place to keep his swimmers in shape. He chose the small, quiet town of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. More swimming instructors followed.” (Thompson). Little did Ingram know that his movement to help his swimmers would be the reason for students spends a total of billions of dollars every year to travel during spring break. Florida and Texas alone receive about 1 billion dollars in revenue every spring break.
There are many expenses when it comes to traveling, such as a plane ride, or gas for a car, food, hotel room expenses, passports, clothing and many more. Most of these costs contribute to the national income. Many spring break destinations have a small population prior to spring break, then drastically increasing as more consumers come to their city. As more people come, it can help small businesses stay afloat as well as help their state/county income.
While many think of spring break as a time to get away from classes, it is so much more. Spring break is a positive trip if the person stays in the U.S. and overall helps our income as a whole. Remember that while on your spring break vacation this year.
Thompson, Derek. "2,000 Years of Partying: The Brief History and Economics of Spring Break." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, 26 Mar. 2013. Web. 13 Mar. 2016.
I enjoyed reading your post. I knew that spring breakers spent a lot of money for spring break but I had no clue it was in the millions. There might be an opportunity cost for the people going places, but because of how much they are spending it's good that our national income is increasing. It also surprises me that college kids have enough money to go to these places because pretty much all college kids have little to no money. Overall I think you did a good job and took a good look at the money side of this very popular topic.
ReplyDelete- Kristie
You made some really good, but true, points in this piece. I have always thought about how much people spend during Spring Break. It's incredible. Especially the college students who are vulnerable to just get out of school for a couple of days. Everything these kids, or families, need during vacation is costly, which is good for (where ever they are) the economy. They are willing to even buy t-shirts, hats, and other tourist stuff, which helps keep those small shops in business. When Spring Break does arrive it boost their population or that couple of days and business everywhere is booming. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to college students’ spring break, many families with kids in grade school go on spring break vacations, as well. The one week of break may vary by date, but provides an equally profitable income for destination cities. As mentioned, I think it is important for the national income that college students and younger families travel across the country for the United States’s national income. However, even if students and/or families travel outside of the country, the transportation costs still benefit the U.S.. Without the total profit, the U.S. would go further into debt, though that seems inevitable anyway.
ReplyDeleteFrom a business perspective, Spring Break is the complete opposite of relaxing and fun; it’s an extremely busy time, preparing for a flood of tourists and beach-goers. Like you said, many towns designed simply for housing tourists receive very little attention in other months, making it hard for their businesses to make revenue. However, one week every year is able to generate enough profit for them to stay afloat the whole year, an impact not many tourists realize when shopping on vacation.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting blog, I have read many of the blogs on spring break, but this one clearly states it as it is. When college students think of spring break they think of all the fun they will have, well also considering all the money they will lose. It is a trade off most students are willing to make, but as you stated in the long run their trade off will greatly benefit that destination, so it is no surprise that many tourist areas will produce many deals, and special regulations for the spring break time of year. This factor is really something that should be considered when thinking about if and where to go for spring break.
ReplyDeleteI like how you argue both sides and explain how it can help our whole country. I agree with many facts in your blog. It does help many small businesses and could potentially save them if they are in need. It sucks for places like Panama Beach in Florida, because this year they are trying to have an alcohol free experience and that could kill some of the businesses that depend on that large income from the partiers down there. Students also could get carried away with spending their money or get robbed while trying to just have fun. Overall it helps the whole nation out, and other vacation spots in the world. People need spring break.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that spring break brought in so much money for states. I didn't know that college students had thousands of dollars to spend on spring break though, because most college students put their money into college and basic needs. Although some small businesses are making more money that also means that other small businesses are losing money, because everyone is visiting somewhere else. Overall this was a good blog post.
ReplyDeleteWow, that is really crazy as to how much money these tourists attractions are making every year just from spring break. I never took that into consideration. If students decided not to go on spring break and used their money on something useful, there could be endless trade offs with those decisions. It's very true that despite the price, any student would say it was worth it because college can get very stressful.
ReplyDeleteThe topic of spring break is very exciting and since it’s right around the corner it draws attention from a wide audience. As said in the blog post many people during spring break spend hundreds to thousands of dollars just to get away for a week. Most of these destinations have a warmer climate, but there are no limitations. Before reading this post, I never really thought about how people going on vacation have such a huge impact on the economy. Many of these places depend on vacationers money and get great business during spring break. I was surprised to find out that a lot of times when you go on vacation, small business and such are greatly helped out by tourist revenue and that within the few weeks of spring break many state and county incomes rise. This piece was good because it gave a whole other look at spring break.
ReplyDeleteDepending on where the students vacation too, their purchases could contribute to the United States' GPA or another country's. Since college students are used to saving money or using it toward their education, I would assume that they don't have much money to spend on vacations. For this reason I think that most of the vacations that students take are within the US and possibly with their families. A break from classes also allows students to refresh themselves which can cause them to be more productive after the vacation.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a lot of college kids travel for spring break but so does the majority of families in America. It makes sense that tourist attractions are making large profits because they are most likely increasing all of their prices because they know people will buy the products regardless. Also a lot of tourist money is going to places outside of the United States such as the Caribbean. So although the United States is gaining a lot of profits the could gain even more if they could get people to travel within the country. Overall, I think this was a good article that pertains to the coming weeks.
ReplyDeleteSpring break is great...I do wish you would have talked a little bit more about how Mr. Ingram turned Ft. Lauderdale into a tourist destination. This trend has also made tourist destinations better. Destinations begin to compete for visitors; each trying to top the other. Its like a good cold war.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that spring break generates so much revenue in Florida and Texas. I would've never thought it was that much. It would be interesting to see how
ReplyDeletemuch that is contributing to the nations GDP, and if us spending money on going places outside of the US is having an impact on the economy. Great post!
I think its amazing how how much money both Florida and Texas actually make from spring break. It defiantly helps the local economy of the cities that are popular for spring break. It's even more than the college students because families go to these places for spring break as well so there's even more profit to be made.
ReplyDeleteI am not much of a spring break person, yes determining whether Wisconsin is going to be nice or not in the middle of March is a roll of the dice. This especially is a hard determinant many many months in advance. I guess we take for granted how much money goes to a vacation to any city in the US. It is always a great experience to visit another state for vacation, as much as I don’t need a vacation besides a break from school it still is refreshing to take a small road trip somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI would have thought that most of the revenue generated by spring break would have been in places like mexico so it is surprising to see that so many choose to spend their spring breaks in Texas. I suppose that it is good that these trips are being done in the United State though because that improves our overall economy and GDP. It' is also weird to think that college students have thousand dollars to spend( while it is probably some of their parents money) that they spend so much money on a one week trip but if they choose to save this money they are spending on trips they could possibly put them to more useful things or put that money towards their years tuition.
ReplyDeleteIt’s interesting to hear that going on spring break vacations can actually help the economy. I agree with the fact that it is good, because it helps keep small businesses running, and can positively affect a state's income. It also gives the small businesses money so that they can make improvements or expansions.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is very interesting just how much revenue is brought in because of spring break. I had previously known that the economy would be impacted by vacationers but this amount of revenue is appalling. During this time, businesses can raise prices causing families to spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on themselves. Today, vacation spots are in a competition with each other to try to gain the most tourists, and that competition impacts our economy greatly. Very insightful.
ReplyDeleteTypically I don't go anywhere warm for spring break. I wish I could but as you stated it is very expensive and I would rather stay at home and visit with family. Sometimes I go to Chicago to visit my dad's side of the family and even driving there takes a lot of effort and gas money. Anyway there are many things that come with going on spring break as you said. No one really thinks about how much money they truly spend when going on spring break, they only think about the warm weather and the time on the beach they will be enjoying. Overall this is a good topic and you made great points about how no one really thinks about how much money they are spending but in fact only worry about where to go and what the weather is going to be like during their vacations.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually plan a trip during spring break but I have traveled south to warmer areas over spring break in the past. The weather here in WI can either be really nice over the end of March or it can be really bad. For I'm only in high school, I'm sure that I will want to leave my dorm or other shared living area when I'm in college and go somewhere it's nice though. I think it is very interesting however how much money is brought in from people taking spring break vacations. One billion dollars is a lot of money, granted that the money is distributed throughout many locations around the world.
ReplyDeleteVery insightful blog post, It was mind blowing in the amount of tourism spring break creates. Towns around warm places, creates tourism which sustains the economy in those locations. Population in these towns grow throughout the spring break season really helping create a positive feedback loop for these fun and warm destinations. But, I think that you may have ruled out Northern states for tourism at spring break. Some people are interested in different things this creating a whole other market of spring breakers that help economies. While not at the same rate still should be noted in the help of economies.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very well written and executed writing piece, and I find it extravagant that spring break is actually something that can help the economy. Plus it also helps not only small but large businesses as well with the thousands of students going to warm places such as Florida for their break. It's hard to imagine where some businesses would be without spring break.
ReplyDeleteI normally stay here in Wisconsin during the spring break,but as mentioned in the writing, there are millions of college students who flock to southern states for warmer weather and fun. This would bring a lot of money to the businesses in the town and more than likely keep them afloat. The one thing I did not notice in this though, is what some of these students may be giving up in order to go to spring break in these southern states.
ReplyDeleteThat’s really interesting how a one coach’s intent to help his swim team resulted in everyone else wanting to travel during spring break. And not only is it fun for the individual, but it is benefiting our economy. It could be intriguing to see how colder regions of the country, in turn, may be losing revenue during spring break.
ReplyDeleteEvery other year I go somewhere for spring break, and I find it interesting how money the cities do make from spring break. I would also agree what the business for the cities are great it really helps out the small business and really helps out the economy in the cites
ReplyDeleteI've never really thought about how much someone going on spring break vacation is actually helping that area's economy. Without these vacations small businesses wouldn't be able to stay running. I'm curious if some of these tourist shop close down in some months just from the inactivity of the area when people aren't taking vacations there. Overall great thought-provoking post!
ReplyDeleteWith spring break around the corner I think you've done a good job capturing readers attention, and providing interesting information about how much of an impact college students benefit the economy when on spring break. Trivial yet interesting article indeed.
ReplyDeleteWith spring break around the corner I think you've done a good job capturing readers attention, and providing interesting information about how much of an impact college students benefit the economy when on spring break. Trivial yet interesting article indeed.
ReplyDeleteIt's very intriguing to read about how these vacation spots to travel to over Spring Break actually help the economy. I would have never thought that there would be that much revenue brought in because of a break from school. This is good for the United States because it's benefiting the economy because so many people are traveling to these places and it's quite expensive to travel because you have to pay to fly and to stay in a hotel or wherever you're staying and it certainly adds up in the end. I wonder how these college kids have enough money to travel to places such as Destin, Texas, Arizona, etc.
ReplyDeleteNot only do the destination vacation spots benefit from these kinds of "holidays", but so do hometowns as well. Many people over shop before a trip, generating much revenue for the stores at which families prepare for these trips. Also, all transportation provides, anywhere from train to plane to gas stations, are all having increased sales in these seasons.
ReplyDeleteSpring Break is only a week away and all students and teachers are getting antsy for a break from school and travel. Many people often travel south to get away from the cold weather and try and get a tan. It makes sense then that places that are warmer would have a boost in their economies due to the increase in people vacationing. Overall I think everyone can't wait until spring break and the economies of the south are anxiously waiting as well.
ReplyDeleteInteresting. I do think that a lot of people going out of the US is not a huge help for our countries GDP. Though, it could be solved by not having everything be priced so expensively. Spring Break prices to go to Texas or Florida are insanely high if you're wanting to have an extravagant place (most people do), that's why places in Mexico are gaining so much business, because their luxurious resorts. If U.S places upgraded their resorts and made them seem more exclusive, I think more people would want to go there.
ReplyDeleteColin Marks
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was quite nice in that it helped shed light on the short term economic boost spring break can have on on cities and how they can become dependent upon the money spent during these short weeks.
I do agree with the fact that those travelling inside of the country will definitely benefit the US economy. When it comes to those who travel outside, there is a minor benefit: transportation. Those who travel outside of the country will most likely need to purchase plane tickets which will boost those numbers. While they are in those countries, there is not much a benefit for our economy.
ReplyDeleteWhen I think of college spring break I just think of college students going south for a week off. But it's interesting on how you brought up the topic of how it helps the locals. I remember going to Mexico with my parents last year and the locals were always super appreciative of you visiting their area and helping their economy. People going on spring break really do affect the economy of certain areas in Mexico and Florida and it's important that people continue to travel south for this certain week.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very interesting and helped showed the economic boost of spring break and show how it can have a big impact on these cities. It also benefits the hometowns as well people tend to over shop before a trip, generating much revenue for the stores at which families prepare for these trips. Also, all transportation provides, anywhere from train to plane to gas stations, are all having increased sales in these seasons. Overall your article provided some good insight on how spring break effects vacation destination towns.
ReplyDeleteI think spring break is a good idea it brig in money from students who travel for a fun time. But many college students can't afford to go on vacation because of all the student debt they will have. I think college students should stay in there state and try to spend as little money as possible because that one dollar could mean the different for a college student.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing to see American cities so reliant on a few weeks, created by Spring Break, for their income. Although this income does contribute to the national income, I would argue that the degree that it contributes is minimal at best. According to the graph, you can visually see that there is a spike in the middle of spring, but the majority of the income still comes from the summer months. It would be interesting to see the correlation between other industries such as the movies or restaurants during the Spring Break period.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting topic especially since this is right around the corner. Many of us do not think about outside factors that do not pertain to ourselves especially when it comes to a vacation. It is something that many producers need to keep in mind however. The supply and demand goes up for markets during the spring and summer because of the amount of people visiting for a vacation. Then the supply and demand will go down during fall and winter. The point you brought up on how these popular destinations are saved because of the income is something I never thought about. One thing to thing about it the other side of the spectrum: What happens to other locations that aren't as highly attended?
ReplyDeleteThe idea of Spring Break is to give student a break from their stress filled studies of college, the economic benefit is just a plus to the many cities and destination around the country. Spring Break has become a tradition among college students, so the many cities that are travel destinations should prepare for the eventual hoard of college kids coming to just relax all week and spend money willingly. This is a great way to influence the choices and destination of college kid’s Spring Break.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised that some local businesses raise their prices when spring break comes around, considering how many more people will be there buying things. However places where there aren't hundreds to thousands of people, may lose money. So while some more popular spots make money, some less popular places may lose money because everybody is leaving to go somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteCollege kids need to simmer down on the spending. They blow way to much cash money in one place. You could spend your many in so many better ways than blowing it all on flying to Mexico. The opportunity cost is far to much in my opinion. People need to realize they can't blow all their income in one place over one week.
ReplyDeleteSpring break is a great thing for college students to get away from the terrifying college life and go to some place nice, warm, and sunny in places like Florida or Texas. It's good for all of the businesses and hotels in Florida especially those that are on the beach or are close to them. They get the most business and probably the biggest income spike for the whole business in just the week of spring break. But with that, the popular towns for spring breakers get over crowded with all of the people. Because of that the businesses have to stock up on all of their supplies so they have enough to give out.
ReplyDeleteYour blog post was very interested and helped me realize how important spring break is for the economy as a whole. When preparing for spring break, people often times buy clothes, accesories, and plane tickets which helps the economy increase. Many people think that just because people leave the country for spring break that they aren't in anyway helping our country. But that is absolutely false, because when people buy tickets and clothes to prepare for the vacation, all the money goes into the U.S. economy. Overall this post was well written and the vocabulary was very strong.
ReplyDeleteI believe that spring break is an essential part of the college experience. In college these kids have to spend hours and hours studying and going to classes and while going to Mexico might not be educational it can help these kids to unwind. Every kid in college struggle with tiredness and going on vacation will help them to come back to there classes after that break feeling ready to start working harder. Most kids save up for an entire year to go on these vacations and it can prove to be very beneficial.
ReplyDeleteOverall your piece was very intriguing. I am surprised by how much a cities income can increase for just bringing in a bunch of college students over spring break. Also its weird to think that some cities are dependent on these people coming to these tourist attractions in order to keep their business going. Finally you did a very nice job and I hope other people think about this when going on spring break.
ReplyDeleteGood job explaining how much opportunity cost for the students. Students are only hurting themselves by going on spring break because of the budget thy may be on because of their circumstances. Unless the student has a good financial support system then they should indeed enjoy themselves else where.
ReplyDeleteI think spring break is overall very beneficial for not only the United States but other nations economy. I never really thought about how much people actually spended. It’s crazy to think that just a week or two vacation can basically keep a small business afloat for a year. One thing I wonder about is how cold places with mountains benefit like Colorado and Alaska. In addition to that I wonder what impact spring break has on a place like Wisconsin because there isn’t very much to do here.
ReplyDeleteThis was great timing for the information given. Most likely many high schoolers as well were getting ready to head out somewhere and blow a lot of money over spring break. It also gives a whole new perspective to what is usually thought of as just another break from school.
ReplyDeleteIt's crazy to see how one dedicated week of the year can affect the economy in so many different ways, for both tourist destinations and the nation as a whole. People tend to save up for these vacations for a while, so the shift in demand for services like plane rides and restaurant bills briefly shift the demand for these to the point where there is a notable difference in price during this period. It would be interesting to see the effect of Spring break on an economy if it wasn't just one or two dedicated weeks, but different for everyone based on the specific school or workplace.
ReplyDeleteI never travel on Spring Break, so this is kind of a surprise to me that this many people do. I didn’t know Spring Break was such a huge tourist attractor. The mention of the Florida swimming town threw me off a little, I’m not sure it was necessary but overall this is a pretty informative piece.
ReplyDeleteAs spring break is right around the corner it's good to clearly look at the economic impacts that spring brake has to offer. With most college students leaving their universities for a week wether it's somewhere warm or back home. But this then brings up an opportunity cost on if they want to stay home or if they want to travel somewhere where it's warm. But it's cool to look at the positive impact on spring break. Like what you said in your blog post on which Sam Ingram wanted to keep their swim team in shape and traveled down to Lauderdale, Florida. Overall you did an amazing job taking a look at how spring break affects the economy.
ReplyDeleteWith spring break currently happening for most college students and for others happening next week, it makes for a great time of year for huge positive economic impact. The graph in the article shows that tax receipts increase 3 times as much when spring break occurs (Feb. to March & April) With Florida being one of the most popular tourist destinations it help the U.S. economy with the additional expenditure by consumers. Spring break is a great opportunity to help the economy since the costs are higher, which gives businesses opportunity to gain more revenue than other times of the year.
ReplyDeleteWith Spring break right around the corner, tons of Americans will be partaking in vacation trips around the US. I love the incorporation of the graph showing the increase in revenue. It would be interesting to note how the some states are hurt by spring break. For example I doubt that anyone would want to vacation to Wisconsin because it is cold and there isn't a ton to do. But overall I do think that the economy is boosted positively because of spring break as more people would spend money on vacations than if they would have stayed home. All in all, this was a very insightful post and enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteWith Spring break right around the corner, tons of Americans will be partaking in vacation trips around the US. I love the incorporation of the graph showing the increase in revenue. It would be interesting to note how the some states are hurt by spring break. For example I doubt that anyone would want to vacation to Wisconsin because it is cold and there isn't a ton to do. But overall I do think that the economy is boosted positively because of spring break as more people would spend money on vacations than if they would have stayed home. All in all, this was a very insightful post and enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteWith spring break upon us, it is not surprising that there have been many blog posts concerning the informal week of celebration for Easter, and a much needed break from school. I thought that the origins of spring break travel to Florida was actually quite interesting. I had no idea that a swim coach was the source for the billion dollar week. However, I thought it would have been interesting had you explored the economic history of spring break, as well as the specific effects that the week has on stores and businesses in the popular areas. Also, you could have explored the opportunity costs concerning people who do not go anywhere for spring break. Overall, I thought that your economic terminology was proper, and that your post was insightful and well written. Nice job!
ReplyDelete