It’s good to be king?
A new report has found New Orleans to be the top spring break destination of 2024 — and the most dangerous.
The Saints-loving Who Dat city of Louisiana — known for raucous Mardi Gras parties on frisky Bourbon Street — saw 931,680 spring break-related searches from February to May 2023, according to the study from AIrportParkingReservations.com.
It was the most popular search term in 34 states, including in New York and Pennsylvania.
However, New Orleans also had the worst safety scores, especially for nighttime, out of all the popular spring break destinations included in the study.
In 2022, New Orleans had the highest murder rate in the US.
However, homicides dropped 27% last year, from 266 in 2022 to 193 in 2023.
After New Orleans, the other four most popular spring break destinations are Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Las Vegas; Maui, Hawaii; and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, according to AirportParkingReservations.com.
Las Vegas — the host to Sunday’s Super Bowl LVIII — bolstered its attractiveness in recent months with the September opening of the futuristic MSG-built Sphere concert venue and the November debut of a Formula One Grand Prix race.
Besides New Orleans, the four most dangerous spring break destinations are San Juan, Puerto Rico; Nassau, the Bahamas; Maui; and Montego Bay, Jamaica, according to AirportParkingReservations.com.
In February 2023, three American tourists were stabbed in Old San Juan after they were told to stop filming in the La Perla neighborhood made famous by Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito” music video.
Meanwhile, the Bahamas and Jamaica were recently put on travel advisories by the US State Department, which noted increasing violent crime in both countries.
Local officials blasted the warnings.
For its part, Maui had a high daytime safety score but ranked lower than Montego Bay for nighttime safety in the study.
Some of the safest spring break getaways are found on the US coasts.
California’s sunny San Diego came in at No. 3, while Florida’s Key West (No. 2) and Fort Lauderdale (No. 5) found places on the list despite viral videos of beachside brawls last March.
Internationally, Puerto Vallarta in Mexico is listed as the safest.
