Las Vegas among top destinations for spring break

The city was ranked fifth in the nation as a travel destination during spring break, based on Travelocity air travel data. Las Vegas held the ninth-place spot last year.

The news might be of interest to some Las Vegas casinos, who in recent years have been making moves to turn the city into a spring break destination. The Palms hosted MTV Spring Break in 2011, trying to attract the 21-and-over crowd of students, and MGM sent press releases promoting its spring break offerings to college media outlets.

Las Vegas has historically faced problems that are hard to overcome, though: age restrictions on its most popular offerings and a lack of a coastline.

For a city trying to make a name for itself as more than Sin City, though, it remains to be seen if attracting more spring breakers will be a priority in the future. Florida cities like Ft. Lauderdale and Panama City Beach have in the past downplayed spring break, the Review-Journal reported in 2011.

Three Florida cities made the top 10:

1. South Florida

2. Orlando Area

3. Phoenix Area

4. Fort Myers

5. Las Vegas

6. Cancun

7. Los Angeles Area

8. Tampa / St. Petersburg Area

9. Maui

10. Honolulu

The data indicates it might be a good year to travel abroad for spring break. The cost of domestic airfare has increased by nearly 15 percent in the past year, while the price of international air travel has remained flat, according to Travelocity.

Contact Stephanie Grimes at sgrimes@reviewjournal.com. Find her on Twitter: @steph_grimes