Even those who normally couldn’t care less about football can’t help but feel a particular interest during the World Cup. Not only is it a great chance to shriek with friends, but you can’t beat the communal joy (and grief) of a packed sunny pub garden with a giant screen and a shared dream of glory.
This year’s World Cup is moments away, starting on 11 June, and will be hosted in 16 cities – 11 in the United States, three in Mexico, and two in Canada. This will be the first time that North America has hosted the epic tournament.
How better to celebrate than with a star-studded line-up? Superstars Shakira, Madonna and BTS are also set to perform a headline Super Bowl-style half-time show during the final at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
For some, this is the biggest event of the year. For a sense of scale, the last Super Bowl was watched by 128 million people, while the last World Cup Final was watched by 1.5 billion people.
And this year’s World Cup is the biggest to date, with a record 48 international teams competing across the three countries.
While many are content to watch the games closer to home, some fans, desperate to celebrate in person, have been booking last-minute trips to the host cities. This summer, up to 6.5 million international visitors will descend upon North America for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Just weeks away from the first kickoff, search interest for travel to Kansas City, Philadelphia, and Monterrey, Mexico, has surged, according to Expedia Group.
According to the travel company, searches for Kansas City have increased by a giant 700%, while searches for Philadelphia and Monterrey look like 210% extra interest. Meanwhile, search has jumped by 200% for Atlanta, 120% for Houston, 115%, Dallas, and 95% for Guadalajara.
While searches for these cities have boomed in recent weeks, many experts have been disappointed by the level of bookings relative to anticipated demand. In 2022, FIFA president Gianni Infantino said: “The world will be invading Canada, Mexico and the United States [with] a big wave of joy and happiness.”
But Chris Nassetta, longtime president and CEO of Hilton Hotels & Resorts, said in April, “the World Cup, at this point, doesn’t look as strong as what we had hoped”, with others telling The Athletic that bookings are below their projections.
Hotels began walking back their price surges implemented in anticipation of huge demand from football fans, but hoped for a last-minute surge in the final weeks ahead of the games.
