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Cabo San Lucas: The “Rolls-Royce” of Spring Break
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One of many “clean” dance contests on the beach in front of Billygan’s Island on Medano beach. |
By Charles Michael Stevens
Baja Insider Contributing Writer
While the U.S. media was busy running entertaining stories about blood shed and outbreak in the streets of Mexico, Spring Break went off without a hitch once again in beautiful Cabo San Lucas. Cabo Spring Break has enjoyed a long-standing reputation for being the “Rolls-Royce” of Spring Break destinations and the 2009 season was a great example as to why.
After two years of slower volume due to the passing of the Western Hemisphere Passport Initiative, (WHPI), reported Spring Break volume increased nearly 30% in the face of fuel, economic, health and other travel crises.
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A Cabo Spring Breaker gets soaked during a clean contest at Billygan’s Island. |
It comes as no surprise, that the growing economic crisis in the United States has directly affected the travel industry in Mexico. And when it comes to a city that mainly relies on fishing, golf, and nightlife, Cabo is put in an awkward predicament when American travelers start tightening their budgets. Adding insult to injury, travel warnings issued by the US State Department were broadly misinterpreted by the media and consumers alike.
In February 2009, U.S. news media created a panic-stricken situation for all of those traveling to Mexico for Spring Break. It was a well-known fact that the border regions in Northern Mexico were having problems with drug related violence against the Mexican government. With this in mind, over 100 colleges in the United States issued warnings against spring break travel to Northern Mexico. The media then picked up on this and began to issue blanket warnings against traveling to all of Mexico as a whole. Subsequently, those universities that had not yet issued warnings to Northern Mexico issued warnings against travel to all of Mexico as well.
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Cabo Spring Breakers ham it up for the camera next to their poolside cabana at Nikki Beach. |
Growing safety concerns among parents began to affect the Mexican travel industry in a truly disturbing way. Some sources have reported up to a 40 percent drop in spring travel to Mexican cities such as Cancun, Acapulco, and Mazatalan. This astounding industry low is a direct result of inaccurate reporting and an irresponsible media.
CaboSpringBreak.com is the only group travel company who has consistently conducted business in Cabo San Lucas for over 18 years. In a recent interview with Director, Jason Hollander, and Risk Management guru, Brett Thackston, we learned that Cabo truly stands out as a Mexican beach destination for a number of reasons.
Thackston stated “When concerned parents began calling the Cabo Spring Break office with safety and security questions, I would simply describe for them Cabo’s geographic isolation from the mainland and border regions and I could immediately hear a sense of relief on the other end of the phone.”
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Playboy Playmates and Cyber Girls relaxing during a CaboSpringBreak.com VIP event at Nikki Beach. |
Hollander added, “Despite the fuel crises, which took place during the first half of our sales cycle, the economic crises, and now the media and state department's inaccurate reporting of cartel activity, our business actually grew significantly.” Hollander continued, “This year parents were much more involved with their son’s and daughter’s decisions about where to travel and with which tour operator. As the industry leader in onsite service and safety, this helped our business grow while others experienced a downturn.” So when asked if CaboSpringBreak.com supported parental involvement, Hollander replied with an enthusiastic “Yes!”
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CaboSpringBreak.com travelers prefer poolside Champagne in Cabo over buckets of cheap booze in Cancun. |
This interesting news is yet another example of why Cabo, above all other travel destinations in Mexico, has remained strong and continues to gain popularity among American travelers. Likewise, the type of students who visit Cabo are far more civilized than the typical Spring Breakers who create problems in other destinations. This created a safer onsite environment for them to enjoy themselves, support the local businesses, and want to return to Cabo after graduation.
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Spring Breakers in one of the CaboSpringBreak.com VIP booths at Squid Roe |
It is also worth noting that NBC news did make one redeeming statement that put much of this into perspective. On Feruary 26, 2009 NBC News reported, "You have to make a distinction between the border incidents that are going on and the places like Playacar, Cancun, Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta, which are exceedingly safe.” While this may have been to little, to late, it still holds true that Cabo San Lucas is the “Rolls-Royce” of Spring Break destinations.