Extended Spring Break boosts business

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The Grand Princess cruise ship arrived for a short visit in Santa Barbara on Wednesday.

It is the first of the cruise season along the coast.

The owners of Mountain Air Sports on State Street near Stearns Wharf said families, friends, and students on Spring Break have been arriving in waves.

Not every break is around Easter Sunday. The holiday falls on April 20th this year.

"What is nice about spring break being spread out is we don't get a huge group of people coming in all at once, we get LA, San Diego, people internationally, people from east coast – some spring breaks started in February all the through the end of April, so it is just nice seeing a lot of new fresh faces in the store everyday," said Linsey Farrel.

Her parents started the business almost 50 years ago.

Kristen Miller, who serves as the President & CEO of the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, agrees.

"This year’s extended spring break schedule is a welcome boost to our local economy, spreading out visitation over a longer period and allowing more families and travelers to enjoy all that the South Coast has to offer," said Miller. "With beautiful weather and a wide range of activities, this extended season supports our small businesses, hotels, restaurants, and attractions. We’re also excited to welcome the return of cruise ship visits — today marking the first arrival of the season — which adds another layer of vitality to our waterfront and provides meaningful economic benefits to the community."

Surf N Wear's Mary MacGoy said they know when cruise ship passengers arrive.

"It is very good for sales we even have a printed out sheet about when all the cruise ships come to town and it definitely bring a lot of business in," said MacGoy.

Although there are still vacancies at beach front hotels, there are a lot of spring break vacationers and road trippers stopping along the coast.

Ellen Hole brought her daughter and three of her grandkids.

She said she found the "stay three, pay for two" deal on Visit Santa Barbara.

As a former UC Santa Barbara student, this is her old stomping ground.

She wanted her family to experience all that California has to offer.

She said the turbulent stock market hasn't hindered her plans.

Her daughter Lauren Brosnan said the weather couldn't be better.

They walked the wharf with after checking into their hotel.

The Grand Princess left around 4 p.m., but another will arrive after Easter and stay a little later in the day.