Foreign soccer fans ditch FIFA World Cup, threatening $30B economic boom for the US
Foreign soccer fans are boycotting the 2026 World Cup in droves, threatening to blunt the economic boost US hotels and host cities were counting on, an industry report warned on Monday.Nearly 80% of hotel operators in nine of the 11 American host cities said reservations are running well behind early projections: even though more than 5 million tickets have already been sold, according to the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s US Hotel Outlook Report.FIFA canceled or released about 70% of its massive room blocks, flooding the market and triggering cancellations of up to 95% of contracted inventory in some cities.Visa delays, concerns about how they would be treated by immigration officials, soaring airfares, a strong US dollar, and geopolitical tensions have kept international travelers home, the AHLA said.Those visitors were projected to spend an average of $5,048 each — 1.7 times more than typical overseas tourists — with one-third planning multi-city stays longer than two weeks.“Indicators suggest the anticipated economic lift may fall short of expectations.Despite more than five million tickets sold, this demand has not translated into strong hotel bookings,” the report said.
“Domestic travelers are outpacing international travelers — an imbalance that threatens the broader economic impact the World Cup was expected to generate.”At a November 2025 White House meeting with FIFA President Gianni Infantino, President Donald Trump declared the tournament “is going to have a $30 billion impact economically in this country” and would “create nearly 200,000 jobs for America.”The commander-in-chief appeared to be citing an analysis produced for FIFA in conjunction with the World Trade Organization that referenced the $30 billion figure.President Trump also said his administration would “ensure that soccer fans from all around the world are properly vetted and able to come to the United States next summer—easily.”But in a thinly-vei...