Thousands of college students and visitors are set to gather in Florida to celebrate the first spring break without any coronavirus (COVID-19) restriction in three years.

Before the pandemic, Florida is a popular destination for spring breakers in the United States. Residents in popular vacation spots like Cancun, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, Pensacola and South Padre Island are expected to deal with a throng of college students on their vacation in the coming weeks.

In America, spring break usually starts in the first week of March and lasts until April, depending on term dates and when Easter falls during the year.

Various public school districts in Florida, including Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties, along with the University of Southern Florida and Tampa, are on vacation starting March 12 until March 20. This means at least 570,000 students in the state will be on holiday, along with teachers and staff.

Last year, at least 65,000 passengers flew into Tampa Bay International Airport per day during peak weeks for spring break. But in 2020, the number of spring breakers was very low  in March and April, with only 1,500 or so travelers flying in per day.

For 2022, Fort Lauderdale officials are preparing by carrying out safety measures before the slated arrival of spring breakers from all over the country. At a news conference on March 4, police and fire rescue officials in Fort Lauderdale told reporters that they expect to welcome an unprecedented number of visitors since the pandemic began.

"We absolutely expect at least double if not triple what we saw last year as far as attendance," said Fort Lauderdale Police Maj. Bill Schultz. He added that the city is already seeing a lot of "early birds" and that it is ready for the arrival of more spring breakers over the next few weeks.