FIFA World Cup 26 will supercharge Boston’s tourism industry
By Martha J. Sheridan, President & CEO, Meet Boston
When the opportunity to host FIFA World Cup 26 matches in Greater Boston presented itself, it was a no-brainer for Meet Boston and our key stakeholders. Sports tourism is a major driver of visitor spending, and from an economic standpoint the 2026 World Cup will be the most significant tournament ever to take place. With an expanded field of 48 teams, fervent fanbases from across the globe will descend upon North America for weeks, creating an impact that will reverberate for years.
In Boston, we were always determined to become a Host City. We won that opportunity thanks to the incredible partnership that coalesced around the Boston 2026 bid. We developed messaging tentpoles that celebrated our status as a global city and an incubator of innovation and cultural exchange. We emphasized our four centuries of immigrant history, the upcoming anniversaries set to take place in 2026, and the tremendous legacies, including sports traditions, that make Massachusetts unmistakable. Not only did we win the bid, we then secured seven matches, including a knockout game and quarterfinal.
These games will induce unprecedented economic activity that will reverberate across the region. Greater Boston hospitality partners – hotels, restaurants, museums, attractions, entertainment venues and cultural sites – will feel the effects for weeks. As a cosmopolitan hub with more than 60 direct, international flights, Boston is perfectly positioned to attract hundreds of thousands of fans from near and far. We want to be collaborative in showcasing our uniquely compact area of the country; we are partnering with colleagues in Philadelphia and New York / New Jersey to spotlight the ease with which fans can travel throughout the Northeast Corridor to see their teams in different destinations.
The summer of 2026 represents an iconic confluence of events. Over the same window in which we are hosting these amazing matches, Boston will also be commemorating our singular, catalytic role in the coming of American independence. This will be a huge draw for our destination, enhanced further by the flotilla of Tall Ships that will be sailing through Boston Harbor that same summer.
We expect to welcome well over 3 million international visitors to Boston in 2026. Many of these travelers will be avid soccer spectators and our hotel partners are eager to develop product and packages tailored to their needs. When we consider our top 10 international visitor markets – countries like Canada, United Kingdom, France, Brazil, Spain, Germany, Italy and Japan – they are all passionate about their teams and inspired to travel. And we have direct service to all of these markets.
We are ready to welcome the world to Greater Boston in 2026. As our nation celebrates its semiquincentennial anniversary, Boston will once again take center stage and deliver results with global implications. The travel and tourism industry is ready. We’ve been planning for years.