South Padre Rated Top Destination

South Padre Rated Top Destination
Comes amid banner year for resort
By Jim Forsyth
Thursday, July 3, 2008
South Padre Island is moving up on the list of the top vacation resorts, 1200 WOAI news reports.

Last year, Conde Nast 'Traveler' named South Padre one of the top thirty beaches in the world. Now 'Men's Fitness' Magazine has name South Padre one of the country's 'ten hotspots worth visiting' this summer, and citied activities like body boarding and windsurfing, and that pleases South Padre Convention and Visitors Bureau manager Dan Quandt.

"People who are interested in Men's Fitness magazine, for example, are not couch potato types," he said.

"As a vacation destination, South Padre Island is affordable and the people there are amazingly hospitable," the magazine wrote. "South Padre offers warm, turquoise waters and waves that are perfect for body boarding. Laguna Madre Bay, between the Island and mainland, is home to some of the best windsurfing in the world."

The recognition couldn't come at a better time for South Padre, which is enjoying a boom largely due to the high price of gasoline. It is reinventing itself as Caribbean beach resort that doesn't require a passport, long lines at the airport, or airline baggage check fees.

Quandt says he's not surprised by the magazine's high praise for the people of South Padre Island. He points out that tourism is the sole industry on the Island.

"We have people who are genuinely interested in making sure that our visitors have a good time," he said.