The economy is not stopping students from go on spring break trips
“Everyone seems to want to go away still,” said Anthony Chirichiello, the regional sales manager for Student City Travel, a travel agency out of Beverly, Mass. which specializes in college trips.
Instead of not traveling, students are using some money-saving tricks. People are staying for shorter times, going to all inclusive resorts, and budgeting.
“A lot of people want all inclusive so everything is paid up front,” said Arlene Gedgaudas, a travel agent at Card Tours and Stonehill Travel.
Some students are getting help from parents or struggling to pay themselves.
“A lot of families are funding trips,” said Chirichiello. “And there are a lot of late payments and extensions.”
“I had the option of going away with my friends and paying for it myself or going away with my parents for free,” said Katy Buonadonna, a sophomore at Stonehill. “I’m spending spring break with my family this year.”
More people are staying in the country as well. According to Sabre Airline Solutions, airlines have sold 13 percent more domestic tickets for the peak spring break weeks. Still the two biggest trips booked through Student City this year were Cancun and Acapulco.
“My friends and I planned to go to Cancun but we had to cancel because it cost too must,” said Jen Harrington, a sophomore at Stonehill. “Now we’re going to Florida because it was so much cheaper to stay and fly.”
Chirichiello said that Student City also books a lot of trips to Canada.
“It is much more affordable to go somewhere colder than it is to go somewhere warmer,” said John Pouche, a sophomore at Bridgewater State College who is heading to Montreal, Canada.
Travel agencies like Student City are noticing students in particular are still going away they are just finding out how to maximize their dollar.
“I asked my parents to pay for my flight because it was so expensive,” said Bridget Shakan, of Maine, who is taking her first spring break trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
“The economy hit us, just not as bad as most places,” said Chirichiello. “We have had a 10 to 15 percent drop.”
Another popular option for students is the H.O.P.E trips. H.O.P.E stands for Honoring our neighbor, Organizing for justice, Peace, and Encountering God. This is the alternative spring break option that Campus Ministry at Stonehill runs.
“The numbers are up hugely this year,” said Judy Henry MacMullan, the director and organizer of the H.O.P.E trips.
This year there are 160 students taking alternative spring breaks which is up from last year’s 113 and two years ago 70. Funding for these students is not easy.
“There is more difficulty fundraising now than in the past,” said MacMullan. “People are not in the position to give for whatever reason and because of that the scholarships have almost doubled this year.”
“I sold homemade cookies for a dollar in my residence hall as on fundraiser,” said Katie Walker, a senior who is taking a H.O.P.E trip this year. “People wanted to donate more they just didn’t have it because of the economy.”
The biggest trips this year include 40 students who are traveling to New Orleans to start the rebuilding process since Hurricane Katrina wiped out the area in late August of 2005. There are also another 40 students going to Galveston, Texas to clean up and rebuild the damage caused by Hurricane Ike in Sept. of 2008.
“The culture at Stonehill has changed,” said MacMullan. “More and more students feel it is a responsibility to get out there and do service work.”
Many student-athletes are feeling the crunch when it comes to fundraising. The Wheaton College baseball team is traveling to Phoenix, Arizona for the spring break.
“We are definitely noticing the economy [in fundraising],” said Alex Rossi, a sophomore on the baseball team at Wheaton. “We sold $500 worth of raffle tickets each and the prize was originally for Circuit City so when they closed we had to change the grand prize to Best Buy.”
Students are looking forward to their breaks even with the current situation of the economy.
“I’m ready for break to be here,” said Lindsey Herchel, a sophomore at Stonehill. “You’re only in college once.”
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