CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The City of Corpus Christi initially projected a smaller turnout for Spring Break this year because of the economy, but after this first weekend, businesses in North Padre and Port Aransas said it's booming.
Port Aransas Escapes Co-Owner Marine Pate told 3NEWS that they are already seeing the full brunt of Spring Break.
"We are completely full. Every single property has somebody staying in it," she said.
Pate said many Spring Breakers wanted to see how sunny our shores would be before that booked their rentals.
"Our Spring Break is very strong this year, almost identical to last year," she said. "We had a lot of last minute bookings for the smaller properties. Maybe the bookings came in last week because they were waiting to see what the weather would be."
According to the city, this time last year, Corpus Christi had an average of about 16,000 visitors who went over the JKF Causeway. This weekend there was over 20,000, everyday of the weekend.
Surfside Sandwich Shoppe Owner Drew Sandoval said that his business is seeing both locals and tourists alike.
"We are very excited for Spring Break. We have Spring Breakers coming out, regulars coming out," he said.
Sandoval said that despite the recent cold front, his shop has seen more than its fair share of good business.
"Definitely successful so far, and we are anticipating a lot more business," he said. "We expect to see way more people come out. There's a lot of people on the beaches and they need somewhere to eat. Hopefully they come by and see us."
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