- Spring Break isn't close, but it's coming.
These spring break fun facts might surprise you. And remember, you don’t have to be in college to go on Spring Break!
Between 1.5 and 2 million students go on spring break every year and collectively spend over one billion dollars.
The number one U.S. Spring Break destination is Panama City Beach, Florida, closely followed by South Padre Island, Texas.
MTV’s first spring break program premiered in 1986.
By the 1950s, spring break had spread beyond the pool and major news outlets first started covering it. College students everywhere were heading south for a break on the beach. The magazine TIME published its first spring break story, “Beer & the Beach,” in 1959.
Panama City Beach attracts nearly half a million young spring breakers each year.
In 2015, the Chicago Tribune reported that over 50 percent of university students planned to travel for spring break. Many of the best destinations were tropical, including Miami, San Juan and Cancun.
The largest night club in the USA is Club Lavela, located in Panama City Beach. This has got to be one of the best spring break fun facts!
Panama City Beach has enjoyed being known for having one of the world’s best beaches but South Padre Island has the largest daytime beach party on their famous beach formerly branded the Coca-Cola Beach.
Corporate brands promoting their products and services on Spring Break have the chance of increasing their brand awareness by 30 percent by the time their campaign is over.
Spring Break injects hundreds of millions of dollars into the local economy and provides local businesses nearly 40 percent of their income for the entire year. Wow! This is one of the best spring break fun facts.
South Padre Island attracts close to 150,000 students.
Daytona Beach, Florida is still popular mainly because spring breakers are able to driver their vehicles right on the beach!
Daytona Beach was king of all destinations throughout the 1970s and 1980s before Panama City Beach took over as the Spring Break Capital of the World!
The origins of spring break are traced back to Greece and Rome. In ancient times. it was known as a season of fertility and new beginning.
Spring break happens at schools all around the world lots of different reasons, whether it’s for more time off following Easter or a time meant for rest or extra studies. For years, college students typically passed their spring breaks at home but in the 1930s, the Colgate College spring team started traveling to Fort Lauderdale for training. Before long, swimmers from around the country started attending competitions in Florida. And thus began spring break how we know it today.
Glen Swarthout, a Michigan State University professor, heard that his students were planning a trip to Florida in 1958. Curious, he decided to visit Fort Lauderdale and observe this “new” idea pf spring break for himself. His travels inspired him to write Where the Boys Are, a hit book, which MGM later transformed into a movie in 1960. After the the release of the movie, tens of thousands of students visited Fort Lauderdale for spring break. Did you know this as one of the spring break fun facts?
MTV’s 1986 coverage served to support and highlight the association between spring break and excess partying.
In response to growing concerns, the American Medical Association began to issue warnings about drinking, drugs, and sexual activity, and a number of colleges and universities began providing students with “break bags,” filled with items like sunscreen and sexual assault pamphlets.
South Padre hosts 30,000 spring breakers partying daily.
Recently, spring break has begun to evolve into something besides a week of partying. In 2006, United Way started offering Alternative Spring Break, a program that allows students to aid neighborhoods throughout the United States. Students have since contributed over 150,000 service hours to 15 different communities.