Why The Promised World Cup Economic Boon ‘Isn’t Materializing’

As the World Cup draws closer, hotel associations in host cities tell Forbes they are resigned to seeing a smaller economic lift than FIFA had promised. KEY FACTS The heads of hotel associations in three World Cup host cities—New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco—told Forbes they have not seen a World Cup surge in demand so far. In recent weeks, FIFA cancelled tens of thousands of reserved rooms in host cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. “The tea leaves are showing us that the demand the World Cup was meant to drive isn’t materializing, at least right now,” Evan Saunders, senior vice president of travel at the location intelligence firm Azira, told Forbes. CRUCIAL QUOTE “My hunch is the World Cup will be a huge success as a sporting tournament. On TV, the stadiums will appear full or almost full—but that's not necessarily the same thing as a tourism success,” Alan Fyall, associate dean at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, told Forbes. DEMAND FAILS TO LIVE UP TO FIFA HYPE Some World Cup host cities are grateful they didn’t put all their eggs in the World Cup basket. “Contrary to the massive hype” accompanying FIFA’s World Cup announcement a year ago, when the soccer body forecasted millions of international visitors would deliver a $30.5 billion economic boost to the U.S., “demand has certainly not been at anywhere near that level,” Vijay Dandapani, president and CEO of the Hotel Association of New York City, told Forbes, adding that forward hotel bookings in New York for June and July are virtually identical to the same period last year. “Now, could all of that change and we see a rush of business? We all certainly hope so, but hope is not an expectation.” Philadelphia hoteliers “weren’t thrilled” when FIFA recently cancelled roughly 2,000 room reservations for the tournament, Ed Grose, president and CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Hotel Association, told Forbes. “But at the same time, there's still a lot going on in Philadelphia this year. We are still hoping for an awesome FIFA World Cup, but even without that, we’re still having a banner year” thanks to two citywide conventions hosted while the tournament is taking place. In California’s Bay Area, many hotel leaders gauged World Cup demand more conservatively because they remember the last time the U.S. hosted the tournament in 1994, Alex Bastian, president and CEO of the Hotel Council of San Francisco, told Forbes. They tracked team placements and match schedules and “brought a clear understanding of the nuances and the true financial impact of the tournament,” he said, “and as a result, they adopted a more conservative forecasting strategy. That being said, we remain excited about the event, not only for its economic potential but because it will put our city in a global spotlight.” Read the full story on Forbes: By Suzanne Rowan Kelleher https://www.forbes.com/sites/suzannerowankelleher/2026/04/08/hotels-world-cup-economic-boon-not-materializing/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices