The anticipated tourism boom in the United States failed to materialize, leaving host cities facing half-empty hotels due to a significantly lower influx of foreign football fans. The primary cause is attributed to FIFA’s handling of hotel bookings. Initially, the organization reserved massive blocks of rooms, artificially inflating demand. However, just before the tournament, FIFA canceled up to 75% of these reservations. This created a gap in the market, resulting in tourist numbers falling well short of expectations.
San Francisco stands out as a prime example of this downturn. The city’s hotels remain largely unoccupied, and prices have not increased, partly because the region did not host any of the top teams like Brazil, who typically attract large groups of supporters. Similar low demand has also been reported in Los Angeles, Boston, and Dallas.
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