DeniseAck
Guest
What's hard to remember is that 1985 was TWENTY-EIGHT years ago. To compare today's spring breakers to then can't really be done. When we were in our 20's, gas was cheap. There was no bad "cartel' press. The drinking age was 18 anyway. We weren't against "roughing it" in RV's, tents, or far from luxurious places. We didn't have cell phones (HA!) attached to our palms. We all had summer jobs and finding a job after college was easy.
We just came back from the Cancun area. My kids are 13 and 14 and already have traveled more than I did through my 20's. Where we were (south of Cancun by about 30 minutes) was more of a family location, away from the bars and clubs of the bigger towns of Playa del Carmen and Cancun. Lots of Mexican nationals as well as Americans and Canadians, and very low key and quiet. Good Friday and Easter Sunday services on the beach. You couldn't have paid me to stay in a Cancun resort. But if I was 20 again, I'd be bored at a quiet place and want the crowds. I suppose this is the same reason why some condo/home owners in PP stay home that week to avoid the mayhem and nonsense.
It's like this in lots of places with the 45+ year old crowd. You don't find many New Yorkers going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade or the Times Square New Years Eve bash. San Diego adults don't whip down to Tijuana for a night of clubbing and belly shots on the bar. New Orleans homeowners stay away from Bourbon street for the Mardi Gras/Carnival festivities.
It depends on which demographic you want to market to. "Stay here--right in the middle of the action" or "Stay here--away from all the crowds and noise" Spring break kids have the money from their folks, and don't mind spending it on watered down club drinks. People our age had to work for that money and probably prefer Don Julio to well tequila. Spring break kids will eat street tacos and drink beer as a food group for a whole week, older visitors will actually sit in a restaurant and spend some real money. I can bet lots of carloads of kids hit the stores, stocked up on chips and liquor, and never stepped foot into a restaurant. Places need to have a cover charge because the kids are already coming in half-drunk.
The times we live in now has changed so much that we can't compare. "It's a dawn of a new era."
We just came back from the Cancun area. My kids are 13 and 14 and already have traveled more than I did through my 20's. Where we were (south of Cancun by about 30 minutes) was more of a family location, away from the bars and clubs of the bigger towns of Playa del Carmen and Cancun. Lots of Mexican nationals as well as Americans and Canadians, and very low key and quiet. Good Friday and Easter Sunday services on the beach. You couldn't have paid me to stay in a Cancun resort. But if I was 20 again, I'd be bored at a quiet place and want the crowds. I suppose this is the same reason why some condo/home owners in PP stay home that week to avoid the mayhem and nonsense.
It's like this in lots of places with the 45+ year old crowd. You don't find many New Yorkers going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade or the Times Square New Years Eve bash. San Diego adults don't whip down to Tijuana for a night of clubbing and belly shots on the bar. New Orleans homeowners stay away from Bourbon street for the Mardi Gras/Carnival festivities.
It depends on which demographic you want to market to. "Stay here--right in the middle of the action" or "Stay here--away from all the crowds and noise" Spring break kids have the money from their folks, and don't mind spending it on watered down club drinks. People our age had to work for that money and probably prefer Don Julio to well tequila. Spring break kids will eat street tacos and drink beer as a food group for a whole week, older visitors will actually sit in a restaurant and spend some real money. I can bet lots of carloads of kids hit the stores, stocked up on chips and liquor, and never stepped foot into a restaurant. Places need to have a cover charge because the kids are already coming in half-drunk.
The times we live in now has changed so much that we can't compare. "It's a dawn of a new era."
