The 2026 FIFA World Cup failed to deliver the expected surge in international tourism to the United States, with foreign visitor arrivals continuing to decline despite the country hosting matches during the summer, according to Forbes.
Data from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Travel and Tourism Office (NTTO) showed that international visitor arrivals to the U.S. fell 3% year-on-year in July 2026. Overseas visitor arrivals had also declined 1.8% in June, with the country receiving about 400,000 fewer foreign visitors that month compared with June 2025.
The weaker-than-expected tourism performance contrasts with earlier expectations that the World Cup would provide a major boost to the U.S. travel economy. FIFA had projected that the tournament could generate about US$30.5 billion for the U.S. economy, partly on expectations of a substantial influx of international fans. However, the anticipated surge in overseas visitors did not materialise. Alan Fyall, associate dean at the University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, told Forbes that the tournament may have prevented international visitor numbers from being even lower, rather than creating the tourism boom that had been anticipated.
While international arrivals weakened, visitors who did travel to the U.S. spent more. International visitors spent approximately US$400 million more in June on travel-related goods and services, including accommodation, food, recreation and entertainment, compared with the same month in 2025. International visitor fares received by U.S. airlines reached US$2.8 billion, although this represented an increase of less than 0.5%.
The hotel sector was among the beneficiaries of the World Cup, particularly in host cities. Major hotel companies reported stronger revenues during the tournament, but analysts attributed much of the improvement to higher room rates rather than increased occupancy. CoStar hospitality analyst Jan Freitag described it as a “room rate event rather than an occupancy event.”
The development highlights the challenges facing the U.S. inbound tourism market even as the country hosted one of the world’s biggest sporting events. The World Cup generated significant commercial activity, but its impact on international visitor volumes fell short of expectations.
