Officials fear weaker spring break business

Panama City Beach, Fla. — Local tourism officials are worried spring break may not be as prosperous as in the past.

The reasons: Fewer rooms, higher prices, a weak economy, the threat of war, stricter law enforcement and more competition.

This Florida Panhandle resort city has been the nation’s leading spring break destination in recent years. Businesses usually rake in about $200 million from the last week of February through the middle of April.

That number could fall in 2003 because seven hotels and motels totaling 1,621 rooms are being torn down for redevelopment.

Cody Kahn, general manager of the Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort, said he expected a good spring break but still had vacancies among 900 rooms at five locations.

“I’d say if anything right now we have a shortage of spring breakers,” Kahn said. “There are several reasons. The war, the economy and the others who are competing for spring breakers. South (Miami) Beach is making a real effort to bring in the spring break crowd.”

Survey: Travelers leave picnic baskets at home

Portland, Ore. — Americans are increasingly forsaking simple outdoors pleasures like picnicking and camping for fast-growing activities like golf and sightseeing while driving, a state survey in Oregon suggests.

“In some ways, our study results are reflective of what’s going on in our society as a whole,” said Terry Bergerson, project manger with the Oregon Parks and Recreation department.

Bergerson said national studies suggested that picnic baskets were being left at home because of the growing numbers of fast-food outlets near parks and wildlands.

Running and walking kept their long-standing place at the top of Oregon’s popularity list. At 97 million user-days, participation was two-and-a-half times that of birdwatching and all other wildlife observation combined. Driving for pleasure, ranked just behind wildlife watching.

Golf-playing nearly tripled since a previous survey in 1987, making it the fastest-growing activity in Oregon. Peak use of golf courses exceeds supply in four of 11 state regions.