Atlanta students, families keep it close to home over spring break

Call it Spring Broke.

Downsizing has put a crimp in the traditional spring getaway. Some area families are trading the Florida trip for cheaper alternatives.

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Charles Trainor Jr./Miami Herald/MCT

Spring breakers from the Midwest and Northeast hit the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Many Atlanta students and their families say they will be spending the break close to home thanks to the economy.

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Samantha Gregory, a technical writer living in Alpharetta, was planning a visit to DisneyWorld with her two children — she already has Park Hopper passes — but the travel and hotel expenses were too high.

Her work as a contract writer for the Marshall Space Flight Center ended recently, and she’s been freelancing and promoting her book on single motherhood. So instead of Orlando, they’ll stick around Atlanta and use a discount pass to visit Six Flags, the Georgia Aquarium and the World of Coke. “We’ll go and paint the town red,” Gregory said.

Others, in the face of a stalled economy, have also put the brakes on spring.

A USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted earlier this year found that 58 percent of those who normally vacation away from home would spend less this year, or not go at all. Similarly, a forecast by consultants D.K. Shifflet & Associates and IHS Global Insight predicts that Americans will spend 9.7 percent less on leisure travel in April, May and June than last year at this time.

Count among them John Mecke of Dunwoody, who lost his job as an executive vice president with a Norcross-based tech company last December and is working independently, consulting with tech investors and in mergers and acquisitions. Usually the family plans at least one big trip a year, but these days, “We’re watching our money pretty closely,” he said.

For spring break they came up with a one-tank, three-day trip to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., that was easier on the budget than the full-week beach excursion. Dad had to stay home and work on a quick-turn consulting job, but “that’s always a good thing, for someone in my position.”

It’s a tale being told across categories.

“Everybody is bunkering down to try to ride out the storm,” said Dan Rowe, CEO of Panama City Beach Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

That Florida panhandle town is a top destination for Atlanta travelers (840,000 Atlantans visited last year), and Rowe said predictions for this month are equal to last year’s number. But holding steady is a far cry from the 5 and 10 percent growth of previous years, he said. “If you look at every single estimate for the travel industry, 2009 is going to be a bad year.”

This year many college spring breakers, who do their traveling in March, traded the more expensive Acapulco destination for a more reasonable Jamaica trip, said Patrick Evans, of Dallas-based STA Travel.

Of course, there are plenty of cheaper trips for college kids that don’t involve airplanes.

Gregg Laskoski, of AAA Auto Club South, said the good news this year is that gas prices are $1.24 a gallon lower than last spring.

“We do expect that a lot of families will be looking to travel a little bit closer to home,” said Laskoski, “which is one of the reasons that every state in the country is doing a lot to pitch destinations within the state, to get people to recognize what’s in their own backyard.”

The Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau is joining that trend, with an online campaign ready to launch Friday offering an MVP or “Most Valuable Package” ticket, a single $89 pass that’s good for admission to a Braves game, the Georgia Aquarium, Stone Mountain, Six Flags and the World of Coke.

Staying around town might be what Tracy Hetrick, a Dunwoody banking consultant, does with her husband and two children. Usually they go to Tybee Island, but she still hadn’t made reservations as of Friday, waiting to find a deal.

Dianne and John McGriff of Mableton, now near-empty-nesters (two daughters in college, one son a high school senior), have planned a modest car trip to Memphis.

“This year we’ll spend significantly less,” said Dianne, who works in computer sales. The family’s not hurting, she said, but “just because you have the money doesn’t mean you have to spend it.”

HOMETOWN ATTRACTIONS

Atlanta attractions generally get a boost during Spring Break, but officials said this year could be particularly strong if attendance so far is an indicator.

“We have seen an increase in Spring Breakers from our drive-market areas like Tennessee, Florida and Alabama,” said Keisha Hines-Davis, spokeswoman for Zoo Atlanta.

The zoo, Georgia Aquarium, Six Flags Over Georgia and Stone Mountain Park are all rolling out new exhibits and rides to attract visitors, including an aviary with more than 500 parakeets at the zoo, lionfish at the aquarium and “Journey to the Center of the Earth,” a “4-D” movie at Stone Mountain Park that takes its cue from the recent film.

“Due to the strategic changes we made last year focusing on always having something new, specifically with Titanic Aquatic and new animals like the sand tiger sharks, our attendance compared to last year is stable,” Aquarium president Anthony Godfrey said. “As we continue to add new things for guests to see and do, we hope that it will remain that way throughout the year.”