FIFA World Cup 2026: Will our hostility trump its hospitality?

Copyright © HT Digital Streams Limit all rights reserved. Erika D. Smith 4 min Read May 29, 2025, 03:00 IT Los Angeles expected a tourist opener in 2026, but couldn’t be sure of it. (AP) Summary Los Angeles and other cities expected a tourist tread for matches, but tough US border control is a hindrance. If you deter foreign football fans, America will not help to make a success of the World Cup, which will host the next summer. Not long after Los Angeles (LA) was selected as one of the 11 US cities offering next summer’s Fifa World Championships, tourism officials began to predict the potential economic impact. One of the most optimistic? That the week -long tournament could dump nearly $ 600 million in the local economy, mostly from international fans of football. Pessimism has since taken over. At a time when the US has to prepare to roll out the proverbial welcome mat to the world, President Donald Trump’s volatile immigration policies and draconian rhetoric are instead of scareing tourists away. Also read: Trial by Trump: Ramaphosa may have emerged stronger from the Oval Office stories abundantly from travelers with visas in hand denied at the border over minor offenses, or in some cases held for weeks before being allowed to return. The World Travel & Tourism Council, which shows on the Trump administration, recently predicted that spending on international trips to the US would reach only $ 169 billion, $ 12.5 billion compared to 2024 and far below $ 217 billion in 2019. Travel from Canada is off for the third consecutive month. Many countries, including Germany, have issued travel advice and warned their citizens to strictly follow the stricter rules for access to the United States, or to be in custody. However, Trump looks uninvolved. During his visit to Qatar, where the previous World Cup was held, he insisted that the next year’s tournament – considered the biggest ever, with 48 teams playing matches in the US, Mexico and Canada – ‘to be really exciting’. Also read: Race in Trump’s America: A step forward and two steps back meanwhile, his secretary of domestic security, Kristi, promised that travel for tourists “will run smoothly.” FIFA president Gianni Infantino, a longtime Trump alike, claimed that the world is welcome in America. “It doesn’t come from me. It comes from the US government, ‘he told the Fifa Congress. Such empty boosterism did not do well in LA, the US city with probably the most at stake when it comes to sports tourism. Not only does it offer eight World Cup matches, including the high-profile men’s opener, but it is also about to host the Summer Olympic and Paralympics in 2028. Planning is well underway for both mega meetings, which have so far been largely funded with bail and licensing agreements. However, taxpayers and the depleted trunks of the city will be on the hook if there is cost -transition, which is usually the case. Also read: Euro Cup 2024: Corporate boardrooms must join the football of the last 14 World Cup, but all ended in the red for their host countries, researchers from the University of Lausanne found. And with the Olympics, most host cities usually exceed their budgets and do not recover their expenses. London even broke in 2012 and it was considered a success. Hotels and restaurants, which flush with customers, tend to make a profit during mega events. But with many people who expect the Trump administration’s policy to act as a tourism deterrent, exactly how much profit is now. This was at the heart of a fierce debate before the Los Angeles City Council recently, as tourism officials and business leaders objected to a plan to increase the minimum wage for hotel and airport workers to $ 25 per hour for the World Cup and to $ 30 per hour for the Olympics. “An overwhelming majority of visitors of our most important international markets now have an unfavorable view of the United States as a travel destination,” warned Adam Burke, president of the Los Angeles Tourism and Conference Council, with reference to the projected slowdown in international travel, which is already felt in California village. “The prospects of 2025 are not encouraging,” Burke added. Also read: Mint Quick Edit | Trump’s $ 5 million price tag on a US visa is also not a major concern, or the Trump administration even has the resources to quickly process millions of tourist visas applications, and if so, whether it has the patience to manage the flow of fans and players who are repeatedly in Mexico and Canada during the World Cup. To this end, US Vice President JD Vance recently made a joke-I think it was a joke anyway-that the US wants tourists to watch the game. But if the time is going on, they will have to go home. Otherwise, they will have to mention with secretary. ‘ Transport Secretary Sean Duffy has since encouraged tourists to undertake a trip, but “Don’t have your visa too much to do too much.” Such remarks are unlikely to inspire confidence in any tourists. As Adam Sacks, president of the research firm Tourism Economics, recently told The New York Times: “The country’s brand has beaten.” It seems the bruises will appear in Los Angeles first. © Bloomberg The author is a Political and Policy Chairman for Bloomberg opinion. Catch all the business news, market news, news reports and latest news updates on Live Mint. Download the Mint News app to get daily market updates. More Topics #sports #donald Trump #US Economy Read Next Story