Spring Break Airfare Price Drops by 12% vs. last year

Our analysis of spring break airfare pricing from around 50 US departure cities to South Padre Island, Texas for spring break reveals that airfare has decreased in price approximately 12% on average. We feel that the safety of going on college spring break to Texas, combined with the travel deal that seems to exists points to the fact that South Padre Island should be one of the hottest spring break 2010 destinations this year.

Saida is THE place to stay with Inertia on Spring Break in South Padre

Inertia Tours offers complete spring break trip packages with airfare, included airport transfers, condos at the Saida Towers, and 2 dine around restaurant meals per day.
Trip prices with airfare run $649 to $1099 per person with all fees included. Visit http://www.inertiatours.com for more details on this exciting destination or call us toll free 800 821 2176 x 1
or email chad@inertiatours.com

South Padre Island businesses happy with Spring Break

Aaron Nelsen
The Brownsville Herald

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND — Chad Hart’s voice is hoarse after a 34-hour shift organizing Spring Break events on South Padre Island for his business, Inertia Tours.

Inertia offers seven-night Spring Break packages that include lodging, meals and a schedule of parties for $400 per person.

With several of the Island’s largest hotels closed and others struggling to fill rooms by late February, the early indication was Spring Break 2009 would flop, but you wouldn’t hear such talk from Hart.

“I won’t rest until the end of April,” Hart said. “And right now I have a group of spring breakers in front of my office waiting to check in.”

Hart says he won’t know until this year’s sales are counted, but he expects to top 5,000 packages sold, up from roughly 4,000 in 2008.

In fact, Inertia sales for Texas Week, usually the busiest week during Spring Break on SPI, surpassed 2008 sales.

“My sales are up 35 percent,” Hart said. “It seemed there were true people here on vacation instead of people just doing laps on the strip.”

In February, the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau indicated that it was anticipating a weak economy would take a toll on students.

The CVB projected 40,000 college students would take their Spring Break vacation on SPI, down from 60,000 in 2008.

On Monday, an upbeat Dan Quandt, executive director of the South Padre Island CVB, said while the overall number of visitors doesn’t look like it will surpass the CVB’s early estimate, Spring Break 2009 should be considered a success.

“Of course, there are some students who’ve yet to arrive,” Quandt said. “But all in all I’d say we did pretty good, probably better than last year.”

Prior to the arrival of students, many Island businesses were concerned what affect the economic recession at home and escalating violence on the border with Mexico would have on students.

Hotel occupancy numbers, sales tax totals and liquor sales won’t be published until April. Until then most seem content with this year’s turnout even if there were fewer spring breakers.

“It went OK,” said Daniel Salazar, general manager of the Isla Grande Beach Resort, formerly the Radisson Resort. “We had about 90 percent occupancy for Texas Week. That’s a little down from last year, but nothing drastic.”

The Isla Grande Beach Resort features one of the Island’s biggest attractions with the Coca Cola Beach, which pulls daily crowds between 12,000 and 18,000.

The Coca Cola Beach wraps up later this week, but Salazar and his staff have already turned their attention to conventioneers.

“The mood is still Spring Break, but I’ve done a 180,” Salazar said. “The posters have come down and most of the students are gone. My focus is now on conferences.”