With many students choosing to forego expensive international vacations for cheaper domestic destinations this spring break, the economic downturn is making its presence known in the student travel industry.
Lindsay Juley, a travel advisor from STA Travel, said the recession has changed where students go.
""There's definitely not a drop in the amount of people taking trips, it's more of a change in where they're looking to go,"" she said.
According to Juley, STA is selling many more trips to domestic destinations like Miami, while nations with less expensive flights and accommodations such as Jamaica and Costa Rica are becoming more popular.
Before the recession hit, resort towns like Cancun, Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta were extremely popular with students, but are now proving too expensive.
J. Michael Collins, a UW-Madison professor in the School of Human Ecology, blames a lack of consumer confidence tied to the financial crisis for the drop in travel to costly destinations.
""Almost all forms of consumer spending is down, and pretty dramatically,"" he said. ""They're not willing to spend the kind of money they were even a couple of years ago.""
Department Chair of the School of Human Ecology Cynthia Jasper said the travel and accommodations industry could suffer if fewer students decide to take trips.
""There seems to be kind of a spiral effect in terms of people spending less, and then there are fewer jobs and fewer people hired,"" she said.
Jasper said that even for those who are still employed, hearing so many negative stories about the economy has made consumers wary of spending large amounts of money.
This trepidation on vacations will likely affect the summer travel market as well, depending on how long the recession lasts.
As students begin to consider their plans for the summer months, Juley said they are considering going to South America instead of Europe because South America is cheaper.
One positive aspect to decreased student travel is the increased popularity of alternative breaks.
Collins and Jasper said service trips allow students to travel and have an impact on a country without paying nearly as much.
""It's certainly a great idea because those are usually much more cost-effective,"" Collins said. ""It's a smart alternative to be thinking about.""
