Students Prefer Family Time at Home for Winter Break

Amber Harris
aharris@smu.edu

With winter break approaching, many SMU students are beginning to make plans to travel. With the economic downturn, many are not spending money on traveling anywhere exotic such as Jamaica or the Bahamas. Instead, some students are planning to spend the break with family in their hometowns. Many students are waiting until spring break to take affordable trips with friends.

According to www.allbusiness.com, AAA Chicago predicts a slight decline in winter travelers this season.

SMU junior Broderick Mitchell plans to stay in Dallas and work over the break and save money to take a trip during spring break.
“I’m broke. I’m a college student,” says Mitchell.

Mitchell also says he prefers to wait until March because the weather is nicer, so he doesn’t feel limited in where he can travel. He would consider going to Cancun with friends during spring break if the prices were reasonable.

Fred Avery, a travel agent from Superior Travels, says most college students seem to choose Cancun or Jamaica to take trips during the winter break. A trip to an exotic beach for seven days costs $1200-$1400. The price for a trip goes down during “off season” in January after New Year’s to as low as$700-$800 for a week.

According to Avery, students can be limited to where they go because some resorts have minimum age requirements for check-in. Cruises can also be a problem because many have an age requirement of 25.

Even though many travel agencies are currently offering discounted package deals, some students would rather spend time with family during the holiday season.

“I think Christmas is a time to be with family,” says SMU junior Beverly Johnson.

She plans to return to her hometown of Detroit for a couple weeks in December. Johnson says she is planning a trip to South Padre Island in March with her friends.

“You have to go to Padre at least once during college,” she says.

SMU junior DeAndrei Hall says he would consider taking a trip to Cancun for winter break, but he plans to visit his family in Denver. He is looking to go somewhere in March.

“I’m going to Miami for spring break,” he says.

Other students, especially seniors, will be using the downtime to study for grad school entrance exams and rest before they have to return to school for the spring semester.

SMU senior Tim Clark will be studying for his Medical College Admission Test in his hometown of Houston during the winter break, but he has already booked a hotel room in Cancun for spring break.

“I’m focused on getting into medical school next fall,” Clark says.

Students who do plan to take a trip during winter break can contact Superior Travels at 1-888-861-8099. Students can also find discounted trips on www.affordabletours.com. If students would like to take a cruise, the Norwegian Cruise Line allows people who are 18 and older to stay on the ship. Prices for a five-day trip to the Bahamas start at $299 for December and January. For more travel details, visit www.ncl.com.