As the last class lets out two Fridays before Easter and University students leave the Quad behind for sunnier places, Sara McManamon is staying in Louisiana for her spring break.The communication studies freshman has spent spring break on Florida beaches in the past, but this year she’s staying home to save money.Between a shaky economy and the news of drug wars and increased violence along the borders of Mexico, local travel agencies are admitting the spring break market has been affected, and resorts are lowering prices to attract a larger market.Joy Sills, AAA travel agent in New Orleans, said airfare and hotel prices decreased this year in Mexico, including in the popular destination Cancun.Last-minute prices for an all-inclusive trip to Cancun for five nights, including airfare and transfer, is around $500 per person, Sills said.”The economy is definitely affecting us,” said Siman Normand, Accent Travel Services Inc. travel agent. “Last year [we booked] more cruises and more all-inclusive trips than Florida.”Normand said the Baton Rouge-based agency has fewer requests for destination vacations to the beaches in Mexico this year. For 2009, the travel agency reported 50 percent of spring breakers are headed somewhere outside the U.S., while the other half is headed to Florida.Louisiana college students will usually travel by car to Florida, Normand said. The price for an airline ticket is between $300 and $400 for a flight to Florida from New Orleans, making it a much cheaper option to drive from Louisiana.”Most kids are going to Gulf Shores and Florida beaches because they’re so much less expensive than exotic vacations,” said Melanie Williams, Gulf South Travel consultant.Williams said most of her clients aren’t leaving the country.U.S. WARNS TRAVELERSThe U.S. Department of State issued a travel warning on Feb. 20 for all citizens crossing the border to Mexico.”The greatest increase in violence has occurred near the U.S. border,” the travel alert said. “U.S. citizens traveling throughout Mexico should exercise caution in unfamiliar areas and be aware of their surroundings at all times.”Robberies, homicides, petty thefts and carjackings were listed as some of the major threats that occurred in northern Mexico last year. The warning cautioned citizens traveling along the Mexican border and cited injuries and violent attacks occurring in cities across Mexico.The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network, a national anti-sexual assault organization, advertised public safety tips nationally for students traveling during spring break.The organization notifies college students of safety issues every year before spring break, but there’s more emphasis this year after the State Department’s warning, said Lynn Parrish, RAINN spokesperson.”College age women are four times more likely to be sexually assaulted,” Parrish said.When college students go on spring break, they often become less aware of the surroundings and get wrapped into a “vacation mentality,” Parrish said. Students shouldn’t let their guard down, she said.”Always trust your instincts,” Parrish said. “If the situation seems unsafe, get out.”Prices have decreased at destination resorts in Mexico because of all the rumors, Sills said.”The Mexican situation is mostly around the border,” Sills said. “There are no problems around the resort areas.”STA Travel, an agency targeting college-aged students, is promoting cheap rates at South Padre Island, Texas. The travel agency advertised seven nights starting at $199 per person, based on four-person rooms at a resort on the island near the Mexican border. Other destinations, including Cancun, have offers starting at $699.The State Department’s warnings have affected the spring break market, Williams said. The travel agency has tried to relieve customers’ fears by assuring customers the resorts are safe, she said.Riveria Maya, just south of Cancun, is still a popular place for spring breakers to go, said Cynthia Swain, Pearsons Travel World travel agent.Swain said she hasn’t seen a decrease at the agency for requests to areas in Mexico.LOOKING AT FLORIDAThe number of visitors in Florida fell in 2008 by 2.3 percent, meaning about 82.5 million people visited the Sunshine State in 2008, according to preliminary reports from the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, Visit Florida.”March is our third-highest revenue month of the year,” said Dan Rowe, Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau executive director. “A lot [of revenue] is related to spring break.”While June and July are the biggest months for the beaches, March brings large crowds to the beaches in Panama City, Rowe said. And the beaches were crowded with college-aged kids during the past two weeks of March, he said.The Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau will not have the complete number of visitors in the area until mid-April. But the hotel bookings this year are similar to last year’s crowd, Rowe said.For the past weeks, occupancy at some of the Panama City hotels were reported full, said Dana Lynn, Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau spokesperson.Before the spring break season began, locals expressed concern about the economy affecting the market, Rowe said.”2009 is such an interesting time with the economy being what it is,” he said, explaining the travel industry is in “uncharted territory.”But Panama City is an iconic spring break destination, and the city is having another good year during spring break, Rowe said.Kyle Rordam, undeclared freshman, said he’s spending his spring break in Panama City. He said he’s spending $436 for six nights on the beach.”[Panama City] is closer … and it’s cheaper than going to Cancun,” he said. —-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]