World Cup expected to boost Toronto tourism even if hotel bookings haven’t surged

TORONTO – Hotel industry and tourism groups in Toronto are optimistic that FIFA World Cup matches will bring many people to the city and boost the local economy despite a lack of surge in hotel bookings and high ticket prices.  

Sara Anghel, president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, said the soccer tournament will definitely have a positive economic impact, even after FIFA cancelled thousands of hotel room bookings in Toronto, Vancouver and other host cities.

“We’ve never had the opportunity to host something of this magnitude,” she said in an interview. “It’s basically six Super Bowls in the city over the span of less than a month.”

Destination Toronto’s vice-president of destination development, Kelly Jackson, said typically hotels are at about 80 per cent capacity in June and July and they expect it will be similar this June. 

Toronto is hosting six World Cup games, starting with Canada’s opening match against Bosnia-Herzegovina on June 12.

Jackson said hotels are receiving more individual traveller bookings in June this year compared to the same month last year, which is making up for the decline in group bookings as major conventions and meetings that are usually held in June were moved to May or July.

“We, of course, have all of the energy that’s coming with the six World Cup matches and a massive fan fest,” she said. “It’s going to be an electrifying month here in the city and we’re expecting significant out-of-town visitation.”

Many soccer fans have balked at the exorbitant ticket prices for the matches in Toronto and Vancouver and the cost of accommodation in host cities. After FIFA cancelled thousands of its own hotel reservations across North America as part of an operational adjustment, the American Hotel and Lodging Association cited disappointing bookings in U.S. host cities.

Destination Vancouver has said that June hotel bookings in the city are down 20 per cent this year compared with the same time in 2025, but it remains hopeful hotels will fill up closer to kickoff.

Anghel said Toronto remains an attractive destination with plenty to offer to visitors who are coming for the World Cup, or for other reasons even after the tournament is over.

“And given the geopolitical climate that we’re in right now and some of the issues with the United States, you know, I think that Toronto can become an even better and amazing destination going forward,” she said.

Sixteen cities across Canada, the United States and Mexico will host a combined 104 World Cup games during the expanded 48-team tournament, running June 11 through July 19. 

Wayne Smith, the director of the Institute for Hospitality and Tourism Research at Toronto Metropolitan University, said the World Cup will improve Toronto’s reputation as a diverse, welcoming and safe city where visitors can have a good time.

He said Toronto has received a lot of positive media coverage in recent months with events like the Blue Jays’ World Series run last fall and, more recently, rapper Drake’s promotional stunts tied to the release of his latest album.  

“When you’re adding up all these world events, it’s this idea of soft power,” he said.

“You are projecting soft power upon the world that we are cultural, we’re a place of acceptance, we’re a place that people can come and have a really good time and be safe and (get) really good value for money.”

Toronto has allocated a $380-million budget for the soccer tournament, which includes funding from federal and provincial governments, with FIFA previously estimating up to $940 million in economic output for the Greater Toronto Area.

Smith said there will be some immediate increase in revenue for hotels and other businesses in Toronto because of the World Cup, but the big benefit will come from incremental growth in visitor demand in the following months and years. 

“The real return on investment is going to come … as we establish the reputation of Toronto and more and more conventions and conferences want to come here, more people want to come visit their friends and relatives,” he said. 

The manager of one Toronto bar and music venue said it’s preparing to reap the immediate benefits of being in a World Cup host city. 

Sneaky Dee’s manager George Diamantouros said the bar is planning to show all the games and offer promotions and deals on certain game days, especially when the Canadian team is playing or other teams that have many fans in Toronto.

“Unfortunately, Italy didn’t make it this year, but we still got Portugal and we got some South American teams, and we get a lot of support from them,” he said. 

Diamantouros, who has worked at Sneaky Dee’s since the early 1990s, said the World Cup always attracts fans to his bar and the turnout could be even bigger this year.

“Of course, things have changed a little bit since the (COVID-19) pandemic time, but events such as this (are) the kind of thing that bring people out again,” he said.

Richard Powers, an associate professor at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, said businesses in the Toronto area should be excited about the World Cup coming to one of the “most multicultural cities in the world.”

“Any time the World Cup is held, different parts of the city just explode with people going out, celebrating their team’s success or drowning their sorrows when their teams lose,” he said.

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The economic boost could extend beyond Toronto’s boundaries, he said, since high hotel prices in the downtown core will push many visitors to the outskirts of the city. 

“So think of Mississauga, Burlington, going north, going a little bit (farther to) Oshawa, all those places where there’s still viable transportation routes into the city, those places are going to benefit as well,” he said.

Powers said Toronto should expect to see World Cup tourists form “all over the place,” including the United States and “anywhere within five to six hours” of the city. 

Toronto Stadium is expected to host more than 45,000 spectators per match and the city says up to 20,000 people could attend the FIFA Fan Festival at Fort York and The Bentway during operational days.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 22, 2026.