Hoteliers in Mexico and Canada's 2026 FIFA World Cup host cities are feeling pains similar to their U.S. counterparts — generally lower-than-anticipated hotel demand on the books, with the tournament set to begin in less than two months.
Some of the same factors plaguing the tournament's outlook in the United States — a much shorter booking window than anticipated and geopolitical conflicts raising prices worldwide — also are creating problems for its neighboring host countries.
Beyond those universal concerns, Mexico and Canada each have their own opportunities and challenges when it comes to attracting fans for the big event this summer.
Setting the stage
North America will host the quadrennial soccer tournament for the first time since 1994. It will span 39 days, beginning on June 11, 2026, and concluding on July 19, 2026.
Mexico has three World Cup host markets: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. In total, the three cities will host 10 group stage matches and three knockout stage matches.
All three of the country's knockout stage matches are in the round of 32 or round of 16; the United States will host all of the matches from that point on.
Toronto and Vancouver represent Canada's two World Cup host markets. The two cities will host five group stage matches apiece, and Toronto will host one knockout stage match while Vancouver hosts two. This is the first time in history that Canada will host World Cup matches.
Like Mexico, all of Canada's knockout stage matches are in either the round of 32 or the round of 16.
In total, Mexico and Canada will host 26 of the 104 World Cup matches, with the United States extending its hospitality for the remaining 78 — including the final eight matches.
Demand is slow, but gaining ground
Patricia Boo, area director of Latin America at STR, CoStar's hotel data analytics firm, said hotel demand in Mexico for the tournament is currently "a big uncertainty."
Occupancy on the books is sitting around 20% to 40%, below what was expected.
Mexico City is hosting the Mexican team's first match of the tournament against South Africa on June 11. Occupancy on the books in the city is currently reaching no more than 30%, said Stefania Maroso, senior sales executive in Mexico and Panama at STR.
The lack of pickup less than two months out from the start of the tournament is "very concerning for the hoteliers," Boo said. This is leading to more caution on rate pricing compared to other major sporting events such as the Olympics.
"I think the biggest story is that this is very unusual," she said.
Hoteliers in Canada are seeing the same slow pickup.
Sukhdev Toor, president and CEO of Manga Hotel Group, which owns and operates 11 hotels in the greater Toronto area, said expectations and hype were very high back in December when the initial schedule was released, but demand hasn't played out as expected as early as anticipated.
On one hand, early international travel demand for all World Cup matches has been muted, in large part due to the war in the Middle East spiking oil prices and air fares, Toor said.
But despite demand falling behind schedule, it's still there and timing is becoming more important.
"The rates are firm, and it's still much better than normal years we have, but it's not like a Taylor Swift kind of show," Toor said.
Nessi Behar, general manager of the 32-room luxury hotel Casona Roma Norte in Mexico City, said business for the tournament is steady and growing.
"We are confident we can manage easily a 90% occupancy during the month of June," he said.
While high prices and less early demand from overseas visitors play a role, Behar said it's also a matter of scheduling.
He attributes some of the initial slow pickup to the fact that the field of 48 teams was just finalized a few weeks ago. With all of the matchups now set, he said he expects demand to start picking up by the beginning of May.
Michelle Fridman Hirsch, secretary of tourism for Jalisco, said in an email interview that travel demand to Guadalajara continues to build and they are "very confident."
"Booking patterns have accelerated in recent weeks, and we’re especially encouraged by the level of interest from first-time visitors choosing Guadalajara specifically because of the World Cup," she said.
Playing the cards as they were dealt
Yes, many hoteliers in World Cup host cities across North America are feeling the slowdown of demand from overseas visitors. But Mexico and Canada also are dealing with somewhat of a bad hand.
The Mexican and Canadian teams will play all of their group stage matches in their respective home countries, sure to garner immense attraction from their home-country fans. But outside of those matches, Mexico and Canada didn't receive a favorable draw relative to past travel patterns from international fan bases.
Tourism Economics highlighted England, France, Brazil, Argentina and Portugal as the fan bases most likely to have the largest impact on hotel market performance for this World Cup. None of those countries have a single group stage match in Mexico or Canada.
While that theoretically puts the two countries at a strategic disadvantage compared to the United States, there are other factors giving them an edge.
First, perception: Fans traveling for the World Cup will go wherever their team plays. But if their team has a match in the United States and a match in either Mexico or Canada, they may prefer the latter option due to the hurdles in place to get into the U.S. and the general global sentiment surrounding the country.
In the group stage, of the 48 teams participating in the World Cup, 20 will play all of their matches in the U.S.; 15 will play at least one match in the U.S. and Canada; 10 will play at least one match in the U.S. and Mexico; two will play all of their matches in Mexico; and one will play all of its matches in Canada.
"The news around customs, border patrol, ICE agents, all that certainly doesn't shed a positive light on [the U.S.]," Jan Freitag, national director of hospitality market analytics at CoStar, said. "It's possible that some international customers looking to see their team play, given the choice of a U.S. venue and a non-U.S. venue, may have said, 'Oh, Toronto is as easy for us to get to as is New York or Boston.'"
Toor agreed, pointing out how Manga Hotel Group's Canadian portfolio has already benefitted from weakening sentiment in the U.S. Last year, the company grew revenue by 4% in Canada.
"People worldwide feel that [the U.S.] is not an inviting place anymore," he said. "We're attracting more international travel, we are more friendly, and there are no issues here, no restrictions. We expect that to continue."
Domestic demand will be key
Another positive: Four of the five Mexican and Canadian cities will host a group stage match featuring their home country team, which bodes well for domestic travel. Meanwhile, the United States team will play in only two of the 11 U.S. host cities.
"I would expect a lot of interregional [travel]," Boo said. "We'll see Canadians traveling within their two host cities, in the U.S. a lot of U.S. multi-city traveling, and Mexicans will travel within Mexico for sure."
Nooshi Akhavan, vice president of commercial strategy at hotel brand and operator Coast Hotels Limited, said Coast's Vancouver-area hotels are seeing the benefits of Canada playing two group stage matches in the city.
"Matches involving Team Canada are acting as key compression dates, driving a measurable uplift in domestic bookings," she said in an email interview. "These games are generating strong travel intent, with many guests planning trips specifically around match dates."