The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway, and while many soccer fans plan to attend matches in person, the potential economic boom from tourism in U.S. host cities remains to be seen.
The 48-team World Cup tournament is held every four years and is split across 16 host cities in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. this year.
The hospitality industry in the 11 U.S. host cities has worked to enhance World Cup branding and attract visitors during peak summer season. This year’s tournament runs from June 11 through July 19.
“Some host cities should see real upside, while others may not match the early hype,” Melanie Fish, of Expedia Group, explained. “What Expedia data shows clearly is that fans booked earlier, are traveling farther, and spending more to be part of the tournament — so the demand is there –it’s just not showing up evenly in every city.”
Six matches are being played in Seattle, the San Francisco Bay Area, Philadelphia and Kansas City; seven in Miami, Houston and Boston; eight in the New York/New Jersey region, Los Angeles, and Atlanta; and nine in Dallas. The host cities seeing the greatest influx of business may come later for matches that gain higher fan interest.
Expedia says host cities in rounds 32 and 16 didn’t see huge search increases and have been more consistent with regular summer demand.
FIFA projected $3.3 billion in total economic impact and more than 1.2 million visitors to the New York/New Jersey region alone.
Short-term rental platform Airbnb told ABC News it has seen a big influx in searches across host cities thus far, up 80% compared to the year prior, with the biggest increases in actual bookings in Philadelphia and Miami.