More than 34,000 U.S. college students visited Los Cabos beaches by the end of March and tens of thousands more are expected to be celebrating during spring break at the popular Baja California Sur resort area this week.

Despite average hotel rates that exceed US $500, the Los Cabos Hotel Association (AHLC) expects to surpass 90% occupancy. Holy Week vacations are one of the most popular travel periods for Mexicans, so an inflow of domestic tourists is expected as well.

“During this busiest weekend, from Thursday to Sunday, we expect to reach an occupancy rate of around 90%,” said AHLC president Lilzi Orci, adding that she has “very high expectations for the numbers … this week.”

The annual occupancy rate in the municipality is 70%.

One new trend driving the increase in occupancy is that parents are tagging along.

Tourism officials said approximately 20% of the arriving students were accompanied by family members.

This demographic shift created a massive secondary economic boom. While students packed into the traditional, high-energy party resorts in Cabo San Lucas, their accompanying family members booked rooms at quieter properties along the Tourist Corridor or in San José del Cabo.

At the same time, authorities with the local Federal Maritime Terrestrial Zone (Zofemat) say they are fully prepared for the influx of tourists, both foreign and domestic.

Zofemat’s 1,700 municipal employees on the ground established protocols to ensure the safety of tourists and local residents last month, and will be working to protect and monitor the beaches.

“We expect 120-150,000 people, many coming and going from the certified beaches, but many camping along the coastal strip, too,” said local Zofemat director Rafael Álvarez.

“Each beach will have at least one toilet and several trash cans,” he said, “and public services personnel will be passing by at the end of each day.”

The primary task during the upcoming week will be ensuring the care of the environment, he said, adding that the equivalent of a month’s worth of trash will be collected from the beaches over the next five days.

Already, local authorities are calling this year’s spring break season a big success.

Results from exit surveys at the Los Cabos International Airport are providing overwhelmingly positive feedback. 

Students reported feeling secure whether they were at massive beach concerts, navigating the downtown bar scene at night or attending crowded boat parties in the bay.

With reports from El Sol de México and The Cabo Sun