By Sarah O. Swenson
Although it seems as if the Christmas holidays were only yesterday, many students are already thinking ahead to the approaching spring break.
But while the winter term is well underway, the winter temperatures have yet to really set in and the unseasonably warm weather has people thinking twice before heading south to warmer climes.
“If we have a good snowfall and really cold weather that’s when the phone starts ringing,” says Minny Verburg, a travel advisor with Marlin Travel at Century Place, who has noticed a significant decrease in the number of vacation bookings this year.
Of the bookings she has seen, Verburg says that cruises have proven to be quite popular, as well as destinations like the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Costa Rica.
While vacation bookings have been lighter than in years past, students looking for a last minute deal on a spring break vacation may be out of luck.
“The thing with spring break is that it’s pretty specific in it’s time frame,” says Verburg. “Stuff sells out pretty quickly, so people might not be getting exactly what they’re looking for at this point.”
“We didn’t want to miss out on a good deal,” says Mackenzie Adley Maver, a 2nd year student in the Community and Justice Services Worker program. Maver booked her vacation last week and is bound for a 4-star all-inclusive resort at Cayo Coco in Cuba with three friends.
While the limitless food and drink, sun and sand may be a huge part of the appeal of a spring break vacation, Maver, who is graduating this year says she and her friends “just wanted to do something fun together for the last time.”
And while fun is all well and good, but for students that do plan on traveling abroad during the break, Verburg has one key piece of advice.
“You need to be street smart and what you wouldn’t do in Canada, you shouldn’t do out of the country either.”