Melissa Nelson Gabriel , mnelsongab@pnj.com Published 11:48 a.m. CT March 4, 2017 | Updated 12:41 p.m. CT March 4, 2017

Spring Break 2015 on Pensacola Beach(Photo: Ben Twingley/btwingley@pnj.com)Buy Photo

Pensacola Beach leaders are gearing up for spring break crowds and hoping that the thousands of college and high school students expected to visit the area during the next two months follow the rules.

Law officers are prepared for any spring break-related mayhem, said Lt. Frank Forte, director of the Escambia County Sheriff's Office substation on the beach.

"We will be out in full force, as we always are this time of year," Forte said.

Local leaders expected big crowds in 2016 following a crackdown on spring break revelry on Panama City Beach. That spring break mecca strengthened alcohol restrictions and passed other ordinances designed to curtail massive spring break crowds after a string of incidents including a house party shooting and a gang rape during spring break 2015.

But Forte said the expected crowds didn't show up on Pensacola Beach.

"We were expecting a lot more spring breakers than we had last year because of Panama City," he said. "The last few years, it hasn't been bad out here. We always expect an influx of kids for spring break, but we are prepared for it."

Beach leaders have emphasized a family friendly atmosphere when marketing the area.

Steve Hayes, president of Visit Pensacola, said the local tourism marketing office focuses its spring break advertising on people looking for family getaways and does not spend advertising dollars to target college campuses.

"When you say spring break, people think it is a college thing. It is really a lot of families who are taking the kids to visit our area," he said.

Over the last 10 years, spring tourism revenues have lagged behind summer and fall tourism revenues for the Pensacola area, Hayes said.

"Summer is the king, but fall actually does a little better than spring," said Hayes, who said Pensacola Beach has less appeal than some other beach towns for spring breakers because hotel rooms and condominium unit rentals tend to be high end and more expensive.

"You don't have a lot of inexpensive hotels and rows of bars, it's a much different market than you would find in Panama City Beach or other traditional spring break areas," he said.

Beach leaders encouragedlocal residents heading to the beach during spring break to prepare for traffic and crowds, especially during spring break weeks for school districts and universities in the region.

Robbie Schrock, spokeswoman for the beach's Santa Rosa Island Authority, encouraged visitors to take advantage of free trolley shuttles that will be in operation throughout the beach.

"We also encourage everyone to swim in lifeguard protected areas, stay hydrated, wear sunscreen and most importantly make some fun memories," she said.

For the beach trolley schedule, visit:http://www.visitpensacolabeach.com/trolleytracker/index.php

Here are the spring break dates for some area schools:

University of West Florida: March 13 through March 17

Escambia County School District:March 20 through March 24

Santa Rosa County School District: March 20 through March 24

Pensacola State College: March 20 through March 24

Baldwin County Alabama Schools: March 27 through 31

Mobile County Public Schools: April 10 through April 14

University of South Alabama: March 13 through 19

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Pensacola Beach readies for spring breaker crowds - Pensacola News Journal