Spring break students party at South Padre despite Mexico turmoil

Spring breakers hit the beach Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at J.P. Luby Park in Corpus Christi, Texas. (AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Michael Zamora) Spring breakers hit the beach Wednesday, March 14, 2012 at J.P. Luby Park in Corpus Christi, Texas. (AP Photo/Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Michael Zamora) Photo: Michael Zamora, Associated Press Photo: Michael Zamora, Associated Press Image 1 of / 132 Caption Close Spring break students party at South Padre despite Mexico turmoil 1 / 132 Back to Gallery

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND - The forecast for Spring Break 2012: college students from Texas and beyond, lots of them, baking in the sun by day and crawling the venues of Padre Boulevard by night as this island remains a hot spot amid the drug violence that is clouding Mexico's resorts.

Hotel bookings for Texas Week (Sunday through March 17) were at 95 percent capacity this week, said Mary Kay Hancock, special event coordinator for the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"Last year, we saw a noticeable increase, and we are predicting this year will be the biggest in five years," Hancock said.

City officials expect full occupancy with a monthly crowd numbering about 45,000.

Travelers are regularly cautioned to stay north of the border. On Tuesday, the Texas Department of Public Safety warned spring break visitors to avoid not just the tourist-centric northern border towns, but all of Mexico.

"The Mexican government has made great strides battling the cartels, and we commend their continued commitment to making Mexico a safer place to live and visit," DPS Director Steven McCraw said. "However, drug cartel violence and other criminal activity represent a significant safety threat, even in some resort areas."

The warning followed a recent State Department alert noting that 120 U.S. citizens were reported murdered in Mexico in 2011 and advising against travel to all or parts of 14 Mexican states.

Rodolfo Lopez Negrete, head of the Mexico Tourism Board, traveled to Austin in February to lobby against a warning like the one that was issued in 2011.

The message then was "avoid traveling in Mexico during spring break and stay alive."

Lopez agrees that travel isn't safe in border states such as Tamaulipas, but insists that coastal areas such as Cancún remain safe.

The DPS warning went too far, he said.

"I think the language that was used was outrageous," Lopez said. "We're saddened by the fact that the alert paints Mexico with a broad brush. This is something that we have been advocating you cannot do with a country with the size and the dimensions of Mexico."

lbrezosky@express-news.net