Concerns are growing within the American hospitality sector that the upcoming FIFA World Cup may not deliver the tourism surge many businesses expected.
A report from the American Hotel & Lodging Association found hotel bookings in most host cities are tracking below forecasts despite FIFA announcing more than five million tickets have been sold.
The association claims FIFA reserved excessive numbers of hotel rooms for official use, creating artificial shortages that drove accommodation prices sharply higher.
According to the report, many of those rooms were later released back onto the market, leaving hotels facing weaker-than-expected demand. Industry representatives also pointed to expensive match tickets, transport costs, local taxes and political tensions as factors discouraging overseas visitors.
FIFA has rejected the criticism, but hotel operators are warning that the tournament’s economic impact could end up far below earlier projections.
Image credit: Tory Hoffman
