In the United States, hotels are offering discounts to counter concerns that ticket prices, inflationary pressures, and anti-American sentiment may dissuade football fans from traveling to the World Cup. Room rates in host cities like Atlanta, Dallas, Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco have dropped by about a third compared to peak levels earlier in the year.
Many hoteliers are lowering their prices in response to the panic among potential visitors. Expectations were high that the joint World Cup hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico would boost tourism, but the promised influx of hundreds of thousands of visitors has yet to materialize.
FIFA has even canceled thousands of hotel reservations for its technical teams. Tourism experts predict a modest increase in international visitors to the U.S. this year, citing concerns over ticket prices, border controls, anti-American sentiment, and tensions in Iran.
