FIFA World Cup 2026 projected to revive US' tourism economy, may generate $30.5 billion in revenue — but there's a catch

The United States’ tourism economy is expected to take a turn for the better next year, thanks to the 2026 FIFA World Cup that will see some matches in the US.

International tourism to the US has been sluggish this year as visitors stayed away from the countries amid growing unease over President Donald Trump’s strict visa policies, trade tensions and general concerns over a tighter border scrutiny.

US tourism down, but FIFA World Cup may come to rescue

According to visa data from the National Travel and Tourism Office, foreign visitors in the United States decreased by as much as 4% year to date through July.

There might be a full year decline of an astounding 6.5% in 2025, according to estimates from travel data company Tourism Economics as quoted by Reuters.

However, that could undergo a sharp upturn next year as the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The world’s biggest sporting event is expected to draw over a million visitors as it kicks off across 16 host cities in North America, 11 of which are in the US.

FIFA World Cup 2026 to generate $30.5 billion in revenue

According to estimates from FIFA and OpenEconomics, the 2026 football World Cup is projected to drive $30.5 billion in economic output and create 185,000 jobs in the US next year.

As per the report, around 40% of the 6.5 million fans will be foreign nationals who are likely to stay for an average of 12 days, buy two tickets per person and spend around $416 each day during their stay.

FIFA has advised World Cup host cities to expect a 50/50 split between domestic and international visitors, as per a report by Forbes quoting tourism officials from Philadelphia and Kansas City where the games will be held.

However, according to estimates from Tourism Economics, a division of Oxford Economics, the US is likely to see only 1.24 million foreign tourists — a fraction of what FIFA has predicted.

But this figure is also not so less, especially given the fact that it has the potential to turn around US’ tourism economy.

Searches for flights and lodging around the tournament dates are up nearly 70% from the same period in 2025, online travel agency eSky’s head of commercial product Jaroslaw Grabczak told Reuters.

He also estimates that prices for stays could rise 30% in the early days of the event, and as much as 60% in the final few days of matches.

Airbnb expects about 232,000 guests to use its platform to book stays in US host cities, with each spending around $142 per night, a survey commissioned by the vacation rental company shows.

Will Trump dampen the mood?

US President Donald Trump on Monday threatened FIFA to remove its football World Cup 2026 games from Democrat-ruled states, saying that the governors “are going to have to behave.”

He targeted Seattle mayor Katie Wilson, threatening that the games could be moved away from the city to another if security concerns arise due to “very liberal/communist mayor.”

“There’s a huge economic boon to this,” he acknowledged.

However, Trump’s stance on the games being hosted in Democratic states could irk some international fans.

“The rhetoric from the administration against anything non-US is just pretty prevalent,” Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality analytics at CoStar Group, said last month.

“I think some people will say, ‘Look, if I’m from Europe and the next World Cup is in Europe, then maybe I’ll sit this one out.’”

The FIFA World Cup 2026 will be held for the first time across three countries — the US, Canada, and Mexico, and the first to include 48 teams. It will take place from June 11 to July 19.