The deadline to sign up for the Associated Student Government’s Spring Break trip to Cancun, Mexico, passed five days ago, but ASG leaders are still working to meet last year’s participation total.
An estimated 151 students had registered for this year’s trip as of Feb. 1, compared with about 200 students who traveled to Acapulco, Mexico, through ASG last year.
The trip, from March 17 to 24, costs between $639 and $1,069, depending on the hotel and how many students stay in each room. The package includes round-trip airfare from O’Hare International Airport and seven nights at the Cancun Marina Club or Calinda Beach.
Student Services Vice President Laura Ellis, who organized the trip, said interested students can still sign up by contacting her at the ASG office in Norris University Center.
“We have had a good response,” said Ellis, a Weinberg junior. “People tend to get interested at the last minute, and we will still accommodate people until the end.”
Ellis also said response could be lower this year because a $90 departure-tax fee was included in the trip fee on ASG’s campus fliers, making the trip appear more expensive than other packages that only list the tax in fine print.
“The price is similar to last year’s, but the fliers were done differently,” Ellis said. “The flier looks deceiving, and that probably hurt us.”
Other local travel agents said response for a Cancun trip this year has not met last year’s levels.
Travel agent Joseph Mach of Council Travel, 1634 Orrington Ave., said only 10 to 15 students have signed up to go to Cancun through his company.
“The trip to Club Med at Playa Blanca on the Pacific has received more interest this year from students than the Cancun trip,” Mach said. “It’s what the kids are doing this year.”
Medill freshman Missy Metzger, who made her reservations to Cancun through Council Travel, said she would have considered the ASG trip if she had known about it earlier.
“We signed up through Council Travel before the ASG trip was even advertised,” she said. “We might have done the ASG trip since it is cheaper.”
Weinberg junior April Lane said she is looking forward to going to Cancun through ASG.
“The trip seemed like a decent package and a good value,” she said.
Lane also said Cancun appealed to her because of its reputation as a college Spring Break destination.
“My friends and I wanted to do a traditional Spring Break once during college, and this seemed like a good opportunity,” she said.
Ellis remains optimistic.
“I still feel like there’s a chance we could reach close to 200 by the end,” she said.
