Spring Break 2011 travel is showing impressive year-on-year gains over 2010, according to a slew of surveys and analysis of travel-booking and card-spending data. There are also a few trends that seem to be taking hold regarding prices, consumer spending and choice of destination.

Spring Break in Panama City Beach, Fla.

American Express Travel: American Express consumer data indicates that spring travel is on the upswing, with an 8 percent year-on-year gain. Overall costs with lodging are up by double digits (17 percent) for both international and domestic destinations.

Orbitz Insider Index: Orlando replaces Las Vegas as the No. 1 spring break destination, followed by Cancun. Florida owns the list with four destinations (Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers and Tampa) in the top 10.

A full 75 percent of spring break travelers plan to keep their spring travel budget to less than $2,000. Average daily hotel rates are up in eight of the top 10 destinations, but half of the destinations offer average daily hotel rates for less than $100 per night.

Travel Leaders Survey: The top choice for domestic land-based spring break travel is Florida; Mexico is the top option overall. Of the agencies surveyed, 65 percent said that overall prices for spring break will be somewhat or significantly higher than last year. Also, 62.7 percent of agencies said that 2011 spring break bookings to the Gulf Coast are the same or higher.

AOL Travel Survey: 72 percent of respondents plan to spend the same or more this year on spring break travel, while 75 percent of travelers are staying within the United States. Florida is again the top choice. Eight percent of those surveyed will travel more than 250 miles; 58 percent will travel more than 500 miles.

STA Travel: Based on its bookings for Spring Break 2011 (made before Septemper 2010), STA Travel says that 54 percent of travelers said they plan to spend more than last year, and 49 percent plan to spend more than $699 on their spring break trip, up from the 32 percent who planned to spend that same amount for Spring Break 2010.

Additional findings:

1. Florida is unquestionably the top domestic spring destination, and 62.7 percent of agencies surveyed by Travel Leaders say this year’s bookings are the same or more than 2010. Note that the 2010 bookings were done before the BP oil spill, which began on April 20, 2010, so it seems that Florida has more or less shaken off the BP oil spill in time to take advantage of the spring break boost.

2. More travelers are planning to travel this year, these travelers plan to spend more and prices have, accordingly, gone up. Travelers are compensating by heading for cheap destinations and sticking closer to home or nearby international destinations like Mexico, despite media reports of violence and drug wars, which mostly are taking part away from the country’s major tourist centers.

On a related note, a Canada TD First Class Travel Visa Infinite Card survey shows that 75 percent of Canadian credit cardholders are planning on staying close to home for their March break.

Photo – Eupator

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