Katie Koplien
Ms Straub
AP Econ
Insight
29 February 2016
Spring Break in Panama City Beach
As Spring Break begins to quickly arrive, college students all around the nation have begun their hunt for the perfect Spring Break vacation destination. For the past couple decades, Panama City Beach, Florida, has been the hub for spring breakers from all over the country. Though this city only inhabits about 10,000 people, for one week each spring, it becomes the home to over 540,000 students.
The tourist traffic accumulated during this time of year is a major factor in Panama City Beach’s economy, especially when it comes to the opening of small businesses. According to the University of New Orleans graduate student, John Laurie, “between 2001 and 2005 [Panama City Beach] posted positive gains in every year, increasing from 634 to 779 total businesses.” Because of the rapid business growth, the multiplier effect begins to occur. As more entrepreneurial businesses take off during this week, unemployment decreases. And as new laborers start to earn money, they also begin to spend it at other businesses; thus improving the city’s economy.
However, in some cases, we see an inflationary gap occur when the businesses who were making a lot of profit during Spring Break, start to lose customers as students trade in their beach towels for textbooks and return back to their regular lives at their universities. At this point, some businesses are employing more than the natural rate of employment, which is causing for the need of a recessionary policy in order to shift the aggregate supply curve to the left and close the inflationary gap.
This year, however, it is not the inflationary gap that will be hurting the city’s economy, but the implementation of new policies passed by the Panama City Beach City council, banning alcohol from the beaches during Spring Break; in order to keep vacationers safer, and limit fights and illegal activity. Though this policy was put in place to make a positive change in Spring Break vacations, it is expected that this will cause for a negative change in their economy (Pillion).
Many outraged students have decided that they will take their vacation money somewhere else. Because of this, we can expect the demand for hotels, restaurants and stores in Panama City Beach to decrease. And, for a city that is highly dependent on this annual economic upturn, this policy implementation may pose as a huge hurt in the cities economy.
As this policy is only now set for March of 2016, it is still to be decided whether the city will chose to carry it out each year. And, I believe that this decision will be primarily based on how the economy recovers from the loss of their many, consistent consumers.
Works Cited.
Laurie, John. “Spring Break is Dead. Long Live Spring Break.” Free Enterprise. US Chamber of Commerce, 11 March 2015. Web. 29 Feb 2016.
Pillion, Dennis. “Panama City Beach Votes to Ban Alcohol on the Beach During Spring Break.” AL.com. 2015 Alabama Media Group, 13 May 2015. Web. 29 Feb 2016.
Overall, I thought your post was interesting and insightful. I had no idea that so many people traveled to that one spot for their breaks from school in the spring. I'm sure students travel elsewhere, but it is amazing that so many travel to that one beach. It is interesting to analyze the effects of the ban of alcohol on businesses in the area and the local economy. You said that the economy would change rapidly due to less students traveling to the beach, but I think it would be insightful to point out that this economic collapse may not be as severe as predicted. During the times of prohibition, alcohol was still produced and consumed illegally, and I think this process will transcend to Panama City Beach. I'm sure that college students will still find a way to party on the beach without alcohol, and could easily sneak it onto the beach if they could not find that way. Maybe the economy of the area will not be altered as much by the alcohol ban. Overall, I thought that most of your economic terminology was sound and that your post was well written. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteThis is an interesting approach to understanding the economics of spring break. This time of year is known for its intense partying. What is often forgotten is the high level of money being spent at this time. One thing I am skeptical about is whether or not spring break truly decreases unemployment. Just like seasonal workers during the Christmas season, these workers are going to get laid off shortly. Seasonal workers are a debatable topic in terms of employment sense most of them continue to search for jobs during their employment. While this is similar to under-employed workers, I do think there is a difference. Overall, nice job connecting economics to an upcoming event.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting topic choice and it seemed like you have obviously done a fair share of research on this topic. It also interesting to note that Panama would pass a policy that would cripple their economy. I would like to see how this policy is doing, if it is gaining popularity or not. Also I would like to see if businesses would suffer from this policy or if possibly more, older adults or families would start vacationing there because of the alcohol ban. However, I do feel that the students would pose as the primary spenders and consumers in Panama. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this post.
ReplyDeleteI agree that it is an interesting move by the city to ban alcohol on the beach. Although in principle it is probably the right thing to do, it may ultimately cause a decreased number of visitors for spring break and therefore a decrease in total revenue for the city's economy. However, I do not believe that this will be too big of a deal because I'm sure that the business provided by college students who used to travel there could be substituted by families and other people who appreciate the lack of alcohol on the beach. This could also provide more opportunities for jobs for people that patrol the beach and watch for alcohol.
ReplyDeleteI think who ever came up with these new policies is pretty dumb not going to lie. Knowing that most of the money comes from these tourists. If they change the policies, no one will want to go there, so I guess it's their choice over all, but I guarantee that they will regret it in the next few years when tons of businesses keep going out of business. I'm sure they will change the policies back to normal when their economy begins to drop.
ReplyDeleteGood post, your point at the end about the new regulations potentially hurting the economy was interesting. I would be interested to know what types of expansionary policy you think the city might employ this coming year to try to close any recessionary gap which would develop as a result of the regulation. While city certainly could the gap with an increase in spending, this situation is very interesting because the regulations may have permanently decreased the amount of demand for the tourism economy of Panama City so while the LRAS may not shift immediately, perhaps it would in the long run, driven downwards by consistently suppressed demand.
ReplyDeleteI found it very interesting that Panama City Beach is banning alcohol at the beaches. This will cause many to break the law and still drink on the beaches due to convenience and demand for a good time. On the other hand it would also make vacationers go to a different beach that does allow alcohol. Also the businesses around the area often increase prices during the time of spring break to optimize their income because vacationers don't have any other options. Overall, I found this article very interesting by the new laws Panama City Beach are putting into place this spring break.
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ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that this very popular beach would ban alcohol from being consumed on their beach. This will result in many people going somewhere else for spring break because of how much college students want to drink and have fun. I also found it interesting that you focused more on the money aspect and how it will affect many businesses. I’m curious to see how these new rules affect the popularity of this beach this spring break. Your article was very interesting and brought lots of new facts to my attention.
-Kristie
ReplyDeleteI found it interesting that this very popular beach would ban alcohol from being consumed on their beach. This will result in many people going somewhere else for spring break because of how much college students want to drink and have fun. I also found it interesting that you focused more on the money aspect and how it will affect many businesses. I’m curious to see how these new rules affect the popularity of this beach this spring break. Your article was very interesting and brought lots of new facts to my attention.
-Kristie
While I agree that banning alcohol on Panama City Beach will have some affect on the economy in Panama, I'm not sure if tourism will be affected all that much. Even though alcohol is being banned from beaches, it's not being banned from the country, so I believe that tourists will still travel to Panama for the weather, sights, and tourist factors, and the ban of alcohol solely on beaches hopefully won't affect the economy greatly. However, I definitely see your point in college students being outraged, and taking their money elsewhere. Overall, nice use of research to back your opinion on a very current economic issue.
ReplyDeleteI definitely believe that so many people travel to Panama City Beach each spring break due to the fact that I vacationed there when I was younger. I understand the reasoning as to why the council banned alcohol on the beach, but that doesn't necessarily mean it was a good decision. Panama City without a doubt has raked in money the past couple years on this particular day, so it is not understood why they would ban it. In the long run, this will hurt them economically as less people will travel there, and will instead travel elsewhere. Several businesses will most likely go out of business due to these new policy changes.
ReplyDeleteI think it's interesting that Panama City Beach is banning alcohol. It has potential to make the beaches safer, but in reality I think it will cause more of a problem. People will illegally bring their alcohol to the beaches and break the law which means they will need to bring in more law enforcement thus causing the taxpayers more money. Also, the college students who are looking for a good time during their spring break will travel to a beach that allows alcohol because it will be less stressful for them. I believe Panama City Beach will lose a lot of potential money they could've made during spring break because of their new law.
ReplyDeleteIt is not a good thing at all to ban alcohol from the beaches of Panama. I agree with the statement at the end that businesses need/depend on college students coming out there every year and spending their money on hotel rooms, food, and other needs they might have for their spring break to be the best it can be. If it is only this year it will still have a great impact on Panama. A lot of them wont listen, and will bring their own alcohol to the beaches. Some wont and will go to other places around the world where they can drink. Maybe they like the other places and never go back to Panama even with the ban gone. This will have a great effect on Panama, and they should let the college kids do what they are old enough to do.
ReplyDeleteWho ever made the law to ban alcohol from beaches during spring break is dumb. Panama City makes so much money from college students during spring break. Now with this new law passed, they wont want to go there anymore. This new law is going to cause Panama City to loose most of their tourists which will cost them money. In years to come Panama City will realize that this law costed them a lot of money and that the pay off wasn't really worth it.
ReplyDeleteThis post was very well written and full of great facts. For one, I did not know that the population was only home to about 10,000 people. I am very shocked at how small the population is for Panama City Beach because of how popular this city is during spring break. Since there are so many college students in this city, I would thin they wouldn't want to ban alcohol. Alcohol helps them gain lots of profit, so as you stated this could hurt the economy. To improve on this post, you could have found the total revenue in Panama City during spring break. All in all, this post was very well written and did a great job connecting economics to spring break.
ReplyDeleteI thought your article was very relevant to today since spring break is only three weeks away! It was surprising to me that the population of Panama City is only 10,000 people when it is not the time of spring break. I have never been to Panama City but I can only imagine how crazy the area is when over 500,000 college students vacation there. Like you said, these tourists bring in a large amount of income to the area and this greatly helps the businesses grow. I wonder if the amount of people who visit Panama City in 2016 for spring break will decrease because of the alcohol ban. I predict there will be many people upset by this rule and it will cause people to start breaking laws and secretly bringing in alcohol. I believe this law will cause more harm than good. I wonder if other cities will start to implement the alcohol ban on their beaches too. Great article!
ReplyDeleteThis in an interesting topic, but I like how it shows that one area can be entirely dependent on one source of income and then coasts throught the rest of the year. It's amazing to think that one city is able to survive from just one week of tourism. I believe that the city is making a poor decision with its new law and will inturn drive away the students and thus ruin their main source of income. Overall this article was a well written and I enjoyed the topic.
ReplyDeleteBanning alcohol from PCB will drastically affect the income and amount of students that go there for spring break. Hundreds of thousands of dollars are spent on alcohol there on spring break and without that no one will want to go there which means there will be no money coming in. If they want to keep the amount of college students at the extremely high level that it has been then they better make it so they can buy and drink alcohol at the beach.
ReplyDeleteThis was a good time to write about this topic considering that spring break it right around the corner. I had also never considered what big spring break cities did for the rest of the year. While it may be safer to ban the use to alcohol on the beach this decision will certainly hurt the economy because Panama city beach basically depended on the spring breaks to keep their economy alive. I wonder what new city will become the "perfect spring break destination" if Panama city decides to carry out this no alcohol rule further than this year. It will also be interesting to see if other spring break cities decide to follow in the footsteps and also create a no alcohol rule on beaches.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was odd how they decided to ban the alcohol from the beaches, which knowingly in turn killed the businesses major profit during spring break. I wonder if they will remove the ban once they see the type of impact it will on the popularity of Panama City as a vacation spot although many people will probably end up sneaking alcohol on the beach anyway. Although it's a destination for college students, it's also a destination for families to go and where they should feel safe, making me believe maybe this ban isn't so terrible. Overall great topic!
ReplyDeleteI think this was a great topic to talk about. Not everyone thinks to write about spring break. I was surprised to find out the shocking news about the "no alcohol" rule being put in this year, and I agree with you that with this rule being placed, the amount of people will be shortened and the economy of PCB (Panama City Beach) will be affecting because they are used to Spring Break bringing in money. Along with that I think that what you said about the demand of stores and hotels where spring breakers would usually stay are going to have a decrease in demand because now less people than usual will be staying in these hotels and going to these shops. Overall you had a great topic and included great vocabulary. Also you had great evidence and quotes to include in your blog to help support your story. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteThis is certainly a great topic to talk about especially with having spring break coming up in three weeks. It's crazy to imagine that 540,000 students come every spring break, with the general population only being 10,000. With this great amount of students coming to Panama City Beach, many businesses are benefitting from this. During this time, businesses and people are making more money which means they have more money to put back into the economy which is helping to improve/benefit the economy as a whole. Although this is good for the economy, a law that the Panama City Beach Council decided to make won't be good. Surprisingly enough they decided to ban alcohol from the beach because of the great amount of fights, illegal activity, and to keep the vacationers safe. Although I agree that it is important to keep the vacationers safe, banning alcohol will decrease the amount of people that will decide to go to Panama City Beach this coming spring break. Overall you did a great job explaining how this popular spring break hangout benefits the economy. Nice job!
ReplyDeleteI found this piece quite interesting seeing that Spring Break is basically right around the corner. The fact that over half a million students spend spring break in Panama City Beach was truly shocking, but after looking at it in perspective, if a few kids from our school go, and we average a few kids from schools across the country the number's quickly add up. It is obvious that a massive band of tourists/vacationers arriving for Spring Break would boost the local economy, but the specifics are worth thinking about. Also, the idea of banning alcohol was rather shocking because that will definitely decrease the amount of vacationers. Still, definitely a great boost for the economy. Nice Job!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great topic to discuss. Now it was very well written and had a lot of interesting facts. It shocked me that only 10,000 people are living in Panama City Beach. What also shocked me is that they have the law that does not allow people to have alcohol on the beach because of too much fighting and to keep the vacationers safe. Overall you did a very good job with this piece.
ReplyDeleteI thought this was an interesting piece to talk about seeing that Spring Break is just around the corner. It's ridiculous how many kids that so many people go to Panama beach during spring break. The prices of everything will most likely be very expensive as well as the hotels themselves which are probably low quality. Although Alcohol is not allowed on the beach it doesn't mean that people wont try and that will cause problems. Overall I really enjoyed your piece!
ReplyDeleteI thought your piece was very well-written with a topic that interests many of the high schoolers dreaming about spring break around the corner. It's interesting that the council would impose this ban when I'm sure they get a great boost in the short run with their economy. I thought you researched this piece well and your use of economic terms was well-placed and related to the piece without seeming forced.
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