Global sporting events like the FIFA World Cup are often organized with the aim of creating an economic bonanza for the host city. It’s a promise fueled by an influx of tourists, packed hotels, new jobs and billions of dollars in spending.
But as the games approach, soaring ticket prices, weaker-than-expected hotel bookings and widespread economic uncertainty are raising questions about whether the games will deliver the windfall many cities had hoped for.
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For international travelers, US President Donald Trump’s immigration policies are a deterrent. In April, groups such as the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) issued a warning to foreign travelers heading to the United States to watch the World Cup.
“The Trump administration’s rising authoritarianism and escalating violence pose serious risks to everyone,” they said, adding that visitors “should use caution and have contingency plans when traveling to or within the United States.”
Fans also face confusion regarding visas. The administration waived the visa bond program, which requires visitors from 50 countries to pay a $15,000 deposit. In May, the requirement for people to have tickets to a World Cup match was lifted. However, there have been reports of delays in visa processing, meaning travelers may not be able to make it in time or may still be barred from entering the country.
Domestic travelers are also feeling the pinch. Economic pressures from a weak job market and rising prices for essentials like gasoline are weighing on discretionary spending. According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), gas prices now stand at $4.16 per gallon (3.78 liters), compared to $2.98 per gallon on February 28, when the United States and Israel first attacked Iran.
The combination of these pressures threatens to reduce demand for travel related to the FIFA World Cup, undermining the economic boom that organizers and host cities once hoped for.
Mike Edwards, a sports management professor at North Carolina State University, told Al Jazeera: “There’s been a decline in the appetite to travel and to pay high prices for tickets. I think there’s also geopolitical issues and people are definitely becoming more cautious about traveling to the U.S. and splurging in the U.S.”
Tourism disruption?
With just days left until the opening day, 80% of hotel bookings are lower than expected, and 70% of respondents cited visa barriers and geopolitical turmoil as the main reasons for weak travel demand, according to the American Hotel and Lodging Association.
In New York City, where the finals will be held, reservations are about 65% of what respondents expected. In Seattle, Washington, 80% of hotels are below normal summer booking levels. This does not take into account the tourist boom that FIFA had promised.
It’s not just U.S. host cities that are seeing demand slump. Across the border in Canada, bookings in Vancouver, British Columbia, were also lower than expected.
“Despite its global profile, FIFA has not generated the widespread hotel demand that many had expected,” the British Columbia Hotel Association said last month.
Still, some city officials and business leaders aren’t overly concerned that the economic slowdown will be as severe as early predictions. New York City officials told Al Jazeera they expect bookings to return to near normal summer levels by the time the tournament begins. But a global sporting event does not promise business as usual.
Some of the biggest players in the hospitality industry are still anticipating demand to coincide with other major sporting events. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky struck an optimistic tone during the company’s first-quarter earnings call on May 7, saying Airbnb expects to see more bookings for the tournament than any other event in the company’s nearly 18-year history.
Al Jazeera found properties with starting prices of nearly $700 for a two-night stay near the Dallas stadium before and after the June 14 game. Homes listed for sale in Philadelphia ahead of the June 19 game had low prices of nearly $300 for two nights. Nearby Airbnbs have been listed for more than $5,600 ahead of the July 19 finals in the New York metropolitan area near MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Alison O’Connor, vice president of communications at the U.S. Travel Association, told Al Jazeera: “We’re seeing more bookings because the lead times are shorter when coming domestically. Airlines seem to be doing well, but I think the drive market is going to be huge here as well.”
Air travel also shows a pattern of increasing demand despite higher fuel prices and flight reductions by major U.S. airlines. Bookings to Houston, a hub for United Airlines and Southwest Airlines, and Dallas, a hub for American Airlines and Southwest Airlines, rose 38% and 42%, respectively, compared with the same period last year, according to market analysis firm Sojourn. Several matches are scheduled to be held in both cities.
Domestic travelers account for nearly 70% of all flight bookings, according to Sojourn data. International travelers lag far behind, with Canada accounting for just over 6% of bookings and the UK accounting for 4.8%.
“The missed opportunity could very well be due to inbound business from overseas,” O’Connor said.
This will have a negative impact on spending, as domestic travelers generally spend less than international travelers. The U.S. Travel Association suggests that travelers around the world will spend more than usual ahead of the World Cup, averaging more than $5,000 per person, more than $200 more than domestic travelers.
Ticket prices are fluid
This has all come despite soaring ticket prices, which supporters around the world have decried as prohibitive for the sport’s most passionate fans. In December, fans’ organization Football Supporters Europe called the price hike, which at the time was at least seven times the price of the 2022 match in Qatar, an “outrageous” and “monumental betrayal”.
Prices remain high. For example, the average price for a nosebleed section ticket for the opening game in Dallas is well over $800 at the low end. According to FIFA’s website, tickets for the July 19 final are “not available.” However, the Ticketmaster listing showed prices starting at around $9,200 per ticket and going up to $43,553.
Price increases are the result of dynamic pricing, where prices increase in response to demand.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino defended this strategy at the Milken Institute conference earlier this year.
“We are in the world’s most developed market for entertainment, so we have to apply market rates,” he said at the time.
On the resale market, prices have fallen 11% in the past month, according to TicketData, which tracks resale prices.
Late last month, the attorneys general of both New York and New Jersey announced investigations into FIFA’s ticket prices and pricing strategies.
“No one should be manipulated into paying exorbitant prices for seats. Fans should be able to trust that they will receive the tickets they purchase,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said in a statement announcing the subpoena.
Locals shaking
In May, Zoran Mamdani announced that the city would offer $50 tickets to 1,000 New Yorkers through a lottery system. The city says tickets will be distributed evenly to residents of the five boroughs. The tickets available to New Yorkers are not for the finals, but for earlier stages.
Still, this deal is a drop in the bucket. MetLife Stadium has a capacity of 82,500 spectators.
Tickets remain out of reach for many New Yorkers. That’s part of the complaint outlined in a subpoena from the state attorney general’s office.
“New Yorkers have been waiting for years for the World Cup to be held in their backyard. They deserve a fair chance with affordable tickets,” James said.
On Monday, Mayor Mamdani and New York Governor Cathy Hochul announced a joint effort in partnership with Global Citizen to host a 50,000-person viewing party in Central Park for the July 19 finals.
“You don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to participate in the World Cup. Under our administration, you don’t have to,” the mayor said in a release announcing the party.
In cities like Atlanta, Georgia, nonprofit organizations are trying to drum up excitement for the World Cup. In April, Play Fair ATL, a local nonprofit that advocates for fairness in major events held in the city, held a competition called the People’s Cup in advance of the tournament. The goal was to give those who cannot afford expensive tickets the opportunity to participate in sports.
Other cities used the tournament to fund new or ongoing infrastructure projects.
“In many cases, hosting mega-events helps make that happen. Otherwise, those projects might take a much longer time to complete or fall by the wayside completely,” Edwards said.
Houston, Texas, has launched a so-called green corridor that connects a network of hiking and biking trails and public transportation routes (including several lines of the city’s light rail system) throughout the city center.
This is not the first time America’s fourth-largest city has used a major sporting event as a catalyst for infrastructure development. Houston officially launched its light rail system in time for the 2004 Super Bowl. At the time, the line ran from the city’s football stadium in the south through several dense corridors, including downtown and the Texas Medical Center complex.
Similarly, Kansas City made minor transportation improvements prior to the game. The city already had a streetcar system, and on May 18, a one-mile streetcar line opened.
The city is also strengthening its bus service during the World Cup by renting 215 buses and increasing the number of buses running every 32 days. The mayor hopes this upgrade will help facilitate long-term improvements in public transportation access.
“I think it gives us a good test case for how we can do that,” Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas told Al Jazeera.
“How do we get long-term sustainable funding? We move from a hundreds of millions of dollars problem to a multi-billion dollar problem that includes jurisdictions that I don’t necessarily operate in. I would be happy if, for example, the suburbs or the state of Kansas announced tomorrow that they decided to invest a certain amount of money long-term in fixed public transportation across their region. They haven’t done that yet.”
But Kansas City’s plans are also controversial. The city moved forward last year with a proposal that would include opening the jail as part of a broader effort to build a larger, more permanent detention facility, and unhoused people’s rights groups have suggested it would be used to hide the city’s homeless population, a claim Lucas questioned.
“It’s not something that just jumped out at us when we won an award at the World Cup. I think what you’re seeing is the fact that we continue to govern. We continue to have a dynamic city,” Lucas said.
