Toronto’s hospitality industry remains optimistic the FIFA World Cup will deliver a lasting tourism and economic boost, even as hotel bookings have not surged ahead of the tournament and travel costs remain elevated for many fans.
BNN Bloomberg spoke with Sara Anghel, president and CEO at the Greater Toronto Hotel Association, about hotel demand, the challenges facing international travellers and why the long-term tourism impact of FIFA could outweigh short-term booking fluctuations.
Key Takeaways
- Toronto’s hotel industry expects the FIFA World Cup to strengthen long-term tourism demand and raise the city’s international profile.
- Elevated airfare, accommodation and travel costs are making some fans reconsider travelling between multiple North American host cities.
- June hotel demand in Toronto remains supported by other major events, including Blue Jays games, concerts and Pride celebrations.
- Public transit expansion and accommodations outside Toronto’s downtown core are expected to help manage FIFA-related congestion and visitor demand.
- Industry leaders believe the biggest economic benefit from FIFA could come from future tourism, conventions and return visits rather than tournament-period bookings alone.
Read the full transcript below:
ROGER: Well, FIFA estimates the upcoming World Cup will deliver about $3.8 billion in economic output for Canada. Representatives of the country’s hospitality and tourism sector are also anticipating a lift. Here to discuss that and more is Sara Anghel, president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association. Sara, thanks very much for joining us.
SARA: Good morning. Thank you.
ROGER: How is it looking right now? FIFA booked a bunch of hotels, then they freed them up. Are those being filled by people who are coming in for the games?
SARA: Yeah, I mean the blocks were dropped pretty much across all 16 cities across North America back in April. I just want to point out that June is usually a very busy month for the hotel industry across the country, across North America. So what was a great June in a non-FIFA time can become a more difficult June because all of the food and beverage outlets and all of the citywide and business events are staying away from the city. Having said that, we are seeing that we have a lot of transient travellers coming into the city, and the month is looking okay, but not as great as maybe we would have expected without the FIFA block dropping.
ROGER: John, you want to join in?
JOHN: Yeah, I’m sort of curious about one thing in terms of the international visitors coming in for these events. Do you think there’s been any impact? Because we went to book some travel recently, and I’m just astounded how much airfares have risen, obviously because of the cost of jet fuel. Do you see any impact from that already on the hotel industry in general? You know, travel from foreigners coming into Canada for a variety of reasons, obviously, but mostly because of higher fuel prices. Has there been any sort of impact yet?
SARA: Absolutely, it has been. I mean, all the geopolitical issues that we’ve been experiencing, and oil prices and people taking longer to make decisions due to costs are all part of the impact. Another impact is, if we think about it, to host a FIFA World Cup across 16 cities, it can be a little bit challenging, while exciting to see all the different cities. When you’re looking at fan bases coming from international markets or across Canada, or even the U.S., fans and tourists are going to think twice about their decision to follow their teams around if they have to go back and forth to a bunch of different cities across North America.
ROGER: It isn’t a tiny continent, is it? I mean, that’s a lot of travel involved if you want to follow your teams. Toronto has so many events. Pride is coming up this month. How are the bookings looking around that? Are we seeing any concerns?
SARA: Yeah, well actually, that’s a great point that you raised. We have the Blue Jays, lots of games with the Blue Jays in Toronto, and the Pride parade and a whole bunch of other events, which are actually helping keep June a relatively strong month for the city.
JOHN: One question. I live in Collingwood now. I’ve come down to Toronto for work, but how has the nightmare traffic in Toronto, particularly over the past year or two, made getting around difficult? Have there been any dealings with the city to sort of lighten this impact during FIFA, just in order to make getting around any easier? Because that’s going to impact travel as well.
SARA: I mean, the city would be the best group to ask that question directly, but we have definitely seen a significant amount of effort put into getting people to and from the field during game time and, of course, Fan Fest. Public transit has been heavily expanded, with lots of extra buses and trains going all around. And of course, fans who choose to come in for the games who are not from Toronto have a multitude of options for hotels to stay at. They don’t have to stay in the downtown core. They can stay out in Mississauga, Vaughan, Markham, and have great public transit access to downtown.
ROGER: From a business side, is this almost a little overhyped? I mean, we have Bruno Mars in Toronto right now, and he’s doing, I think, five or six shows and selling out a stadium of 50,000. How many people are we expecting from outside the city to come in just to see the games? I mean, the games are what, 45,000 maybe? Then there are all the events around them. How many people are you expecting to see for the games?
SARA: Well, I mean, the city’s projected 300,000 fans. That remains to be seen. To your point on Bruno Mars, I was just visiting a hotel last week, and they were almost completely sold out for the nights leading up to Bruno Mars and beyond because the production crew were staying at that particular hotel. So there is still an amazing buzz in the city with lots and lots of events, and we are excited to have the six games here in Toronto. I’m sporting my great Toronto scarf for the games, and we are cheering Canada on.
ROGER: One of the notes says you call it six Super Bowls. Does it still feel like it’ll be six Super Bowls?
SARA: Well, maybe a little smaller, but that’s kind of the comment that I’ve been using, that it is six Super Bowls, and Toronto’s never seen anything like it. We stand to see a lot of positive aspects coming forward in future years when Toronto and Vancouver are on the map internationally as great destinations beyond FIFA.
ROGER: Is that almost more important? Is the advertising for the city itself and the country more important than having bodies in hotel rooms during the games?
SARA: I think it’s all important. Of course, we want people staying in hotels. We want hotels to be busy and profitable and providing economic impact to the economy in Canada and the Greater Toronto Area. But the legacy pieces that come with FIFA, as well as the long-term positive effects, are also important. I mean, I myself was sitting in my living room last summer watching beach volleyball from the Paris Olympics, and there’s the Eiffel Tower behind them. That’s back on my bucket list again for the next five years. I think a lot of people will discover Toronto, even if they haven’t come to Toronto and Vancouver, and we’ll see tourists wanting to come here in the future.
ROGER: And so the long-term impact, I mean FIFA is saying $3.8 billion for all three countries. So you feel we will get that money eventually?
SARA: I’m optimistic that we will.
ROGER: All right, Sara, thank you very much for joining us today. Appreciate it.
SARA: Thank you very much.
ROGER: Sara Anghel, president and CEO of the Greater Toronto Hotel Association.
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This BNN Bloomberg summary and transcript of the May 26, 2026 interview with Sara Anghel are published with the assistance of AI. Original research, interview questions and added context was created by BNN Bloomberg journalists. An editor also reviewed this material before it was published to ensure its accuracy and adherence with BNN Bloomberg editorial policies and standards.
