Krista Henry, Staff Reporter 
Spring breakers at Sangster International Airport. - File
Sex, sand and sun have become a loose bait to lure spring breakers to Jamaica.
With the US college students no longer fascinated by what can also be offered by countless other countries, local tourism interests have to look for others ways to entice Jamaica?s catch of the spring break trade.
Jamaica undoubtedly has the most popular and active entertainment industry in the Caribbean, yet despite the music that has made strides internationally, the night life offerings are in need of revitalisation.
Evelyn Smith, general manager of the Point Village Negril and area chairperson of the Negril Chapter JHTA (Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association), stated that Spring break arrivals have depreciated significantly.
In my hotel the overall occupancy for March has dropped and that?s a fact. Historically for Spring break there used to be a solid four weeks of spring breakers; eventually that went down to two weeks and now there is only one week. Thelevel is nowhere near last year and last year was a bad year, she said.
Karim Kuzbari, owner of Sunsplash Tours, which offers package deals to Spring Breakers to all the major sites, gives a better idea of the situation.
Significant decline
Basically spring break started around 1987. The numbers were always good until 2001. After 9/11 the numbers dropped overall. Since 9/11 they stayed flat from 2002-2005. Last year there was a decline, this year there was a significant decline, maybe a 40 per cent drop from last year,he said.
According to Kuzbari, the decline is approximately from an estimated 21,000 students arriving in 2001 to possibly 4,000 students in 2007.
Jamaica is not the only country to experience this decline, as Kuzbari notes another hotspot, Acapulco, has also experienced difficulties. However, no destination has had a decline as significant as Jamaica.
For Evelyn Smith, one tactic to draw more spring breakers is to have more shows. Spring break needs additional entertainment options,? she said.
?I think one of the issues is that, for entertainment, we need an area that can go on to late hours and not disrupt others. It would be difficult to do that here in the local open area, as there is one long stretch. If you go to other destinations like Cancun there are open areas where you would not disrupt the guests,Smith said.
Kuzbari agrees, saying ?Jamaica back in the ?90s and 2000 was a lot more hype. There was a lot of entertainment going on. There was stuff with MTV and other shows that were filmed here.?
(Brands) like Red Stripe, Appleton were more involved, the product (Spring Break) was better,? Kuzbari stated.
?There is a lot of primary focus
on big events such as jazz (and blues festivals) and Sumfest, which get a lot of advertising, but spring break has been neglected by local promoters, sponsors and night-clubs.
Need for entertainment
Director of the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB), Basil Smith agrees, saying that the JTB can only market the spring-break package put together by the private sector; it is not their duty to make an entertainment package.
?Generally there needs to be more attention paid to the industry?s need for entertainment. We have been getting criticism about our nightlife, which is low-key,
no live entertainment, especially coming from Jamaica which
has such a popular industry,?
Smith said.
At one time Jamaica had a more raunchy spring break roster of activities that met protests from members of the public and the season has since toned down.
Smith agrees that spring break demands more over the top hype.
When we had more racy stuff going on we had more spring breakers. People complained, so it's a matter of having the cake and eating it too. In the case of Spring Break, the youth want more exuberant behaviour. We can't be too conservative nor too indulgent. We had a good ?in between?, we have to make an investment.
However, Mr. Smith reiterated that the industry itself is in decline in other countries as well so Jamaians should have realistic expectations.
One show that has taken advantage of spring break with success is ?Spring Break New York/Miami Link Up?, which is the only stage show to be held during the spring break season in Negril.
Now in its eighth year, the event attracts not only locals, but the
visiting college students as well.
We wanted to attract the overseas kids who were coming in, we want to give them a real Jamaican flavour. Every year we get a lot of spring breakers coming to the show. It?s always held on the day, the second Sunday in March and at the same time. The feedback has been that they really enjoy it and are looking forward to it,? event promoter, Robert Willams,, told The Sunday Gleaner.
The show has featured some of the best in dancehall such as Sizzla, Lady Saw, Ninja Man, Capleton, Elephant Man, and more.
