Last-Minute vs. Early Booking Trends: What Hospitality Operators Should Prepare for Before World Cup 2026

Written by

Phuong Doan

A marketing professional focused on transforming insights into accessible content that help audiences better understand consumers and markets.

Key Insights for World Cup 2026

How World Cup 2026 Travelers Are Spending Beyond Hotels and Flights

June 05, 2026

(Updated June 28, 2026)

This article explores key aspects of World Cup 2026 consumer behavior, bringing out the opportunities for businesses to engage customers before, during, and after match days.

The FIFA World Cup 2026™ is finally here, and fans are building up anticipation. Brands from hospitality, tourism, transportation, and entertainment must ride the wave of the largest global travel events in history. Among industries, hotels and flights often receive the most attention from international visitors.

In this article, we will dive deeper to find out how World Cup 2026 travelers are spending beyond hotels and flights. Seizing World Cup 2026 travel spending means understanding the way visitors allocate their budgets throughout their journey. It could be from many sources, for example sports betting, ride-hailing, shopping, nightlife, and local experiences.

Key Takeaways

World Cup 2026 travel spending will extend well beyond hotels and flights. Budgets are slpitted into categories like sports betting, ride-hailing, shopping or local gastronomy.
In 2022, over 1 billion potential adult audiences engaged, 67% expressing interest, and more than half willing to watch as many matches as possible. These figures offer a promising indication of the consumer demand and spending opportunities available to brands during World Cup 2026.
Although highly engaged, international fans remain very cost-sensitive regarding transport and heavily prefer regional payment methods.
Tourism, hospitality, and entertainment brands have a major window to unlock new revenue. Offering localized experiences, bundles, and flexible options before the tournament can be ideal strategies.

Looking Back at World Cup 2022 Consumer Trends

Several indicators from the TGM World Cup 2022 Survey demonstrate the scale of consumer engagement and spending activity associated with the tournament:

1.08 billion potential adult audiences globally engaged with World Cup 2022
67% were interested in the World Cup
51% were willing to watch every World Cup match
83% planned to watch matches on TV

In addition:

The FIFA World Cup 2022™ saw more than 20 million Americans place bets, with total wagers estimated at US$1.8 billion over the course of the tournament (Americangaming)
12 million bets were placed on USA fixtures alone, representing approximately $100 million in stakes (Gamblingnews)

These figures demonstrate how much consumer engagement and spending activity can be driven by World Cup. TGM Research walks through key spending behaviors surrounding World Cup 2026 event (other than hospitality and flights), including: Gambling and sports betting activity, ride-hailing and cross-city transportation, and travel activities and live experiences beyond the matches.

Together, these insights help brands better understand World Cup tourism spending. At the same time, identify new revenue opportunities across the hospitality and entertainment ecosystem.

Gambling and Sports Betting Spending Trends During World Cup

Sports betting is expected to be one of the most notable consumer trends during the 2026 World Cup. It has become more about fun, entertainment, and real-time participation while watching the game. TGM’s World Cup 2022 study highlighted this evolution, showing that many consumers viewed sports betting as part of the excitement of watching the tournament:

67% of respondents worldwide planned to bet on World Cup results (N=16,133)
Africa reached 82% and LATAM recorded 74%.
20% used online betting apps (N=28,846)
12% visited offline sportsbooks or casinos (N=28,846)
17% participated in betting socially among friends (N=28,846)

Findings suggest that betting behavior is no longer limited to dedicated gamblers. World Cup tournaments increasingly attract casual users, social participants, and first-time bettors who become involved during the emotional intensity of live matches.

The Rise of Real-Time Betting and Fan Participation

Insights from TGM’s Sports Betting Insights 2024 study across 34 countries reveal several important developments that may shape sports betting trends during the FIFA World Cup 2026™;

Mobile-First Betting Continues to Expand

Internet sites and mobile apps are now being favored by the consumer community across the globe as their desired environment for making bets. Betting is increasingly becoming fast, impulsive, and constantly connected to the live sporting event experience.

Consequently, the fans of the World Cup are becoming increasingly able to make their bets from almost any part of the world whether at stadiums, hotels, fan zones, sports pubs, or while moving around the host cities.

Real-Time Betting Is Becoming the Norm

TGM's research found that 67% of respondents wanted the ability to place bets in real time during sports events (TGM Global Gambling and Sports Betting Report 2024, N=8207). Instead of restricting themselves to predict the outcomes before a game starts, bettors nowadays prefer to indulge in betting while the games are taking place.

Many users now engage through second-screen behavior, live odds monitoring, social discussions, or real-time emotional reactions. In-play engagement getting popular may become a major driver of World Cup tourism spending, particularly across entertainment venues hosting match screenings and fan experiences.

Gamification Is Driving Sports Betting Engagement

More than two-thirds of respondents reported greater willingness to participate in sports betting when rewards are available. Loyalty programs, bonuses, and engagement mechanics are increasingly influencing both user acquisition and retention, reflecting the growing role of gamification in sports betting.

This trend creates overlap between betting activity and broader spending categories such as sports bars, food and beverage spending, and live watch-party experiences. As a result, sports betting activity may generate secondary economic benefits throughout local hospitality ecosystems during the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

Travel Planning and Mobility Patterns

Transportation represents another important component of World Cup 2026 travel spending. Visitors are expected to move frequently between stadiums, airports, hotels, fan zones, and tourist attractions. As the tournament spans multiple host cities across North America, understanding ride-hailing behavior during World Cup periods becomes increasingly important for tourism and mobility providers.

Travel planning patterns will also play a key role in shaping visitor flows and transportation demand. Our analysis of last-minute vs. early booking trends for World Cup 2026 hospitality highlights how different traveler segments are approaching accommodation and trip planning ahead of the tournament.

Financial Factors Will Shape Visitor Spending

Fare Sensitivity Remains High

Despite high levels of football engagement, travelers remain highly price-conscious when making transportation decisions.

Insights from TGM’s Ride-Hailing Insights 2026 study across 30 countries found that fare sensitivity remained the strongest decision factor across several regions: LATAM: 76% (N=3,626); Africa: 74% (N=1,510); MENA: 66% (N=3,195).

Even highly enthusiastic football audiences continue to prioritize affordability when navigating host cities. For transportation providers, pricing transparency and flexible fare options may become critical factors influencing consumer choice during peak tournament periods.

Payment Preferences Differ Significantly Across Regions

Another important consideration for businesses serving international visitors is payment behavior.

Hospitality, transport, and tourism businesses should avoid relying on any single payment method when serving international visitors, as payment preferences vary significantly across regions. According to TGM’s Global Crypto Insights 2024 study, the growing adoption of digital payment alternatives, including cryptocurrencies, further highlights the need for flexible and diverse payment options to meet evolving consumer expectations.

Cash payments are preferred in MENA, representing 37% of choices, and cards stored on phones are the 2nd option.
In LATAM, the behavior is the same, with 45% of respondents opting to pay in cash.
African users are 55% to favor cash, followed by app-based payment

For brands, offering multiple payment methods will be essential to accommodate the diverse expectations of travelers during the FIFA World Cup 2026™.

What Travelers Actually Do Beyond Sporting Events

Insights from TGM’s travel activity research among 21,000 respondents worldwide reveal that travelers consistently engage in a wide variety of activities beyond their primary reason for travel. The figures demonstrate that even during major sporting events, travelers continue to prioritize broader destination experiences.

Beach and leisure activities (60%), stands as the most popular choice among travelers, followed by shopping (53%) and cultural and gastronomic activities (45%).

The results suggest that visitors are primarily seeking relaxation, local experiences, and retail opportunities.

Wellness (22%) and sporting activities (16%) remain more niche interests. However, travelers still have demand for health-improving activities. It is important to offer a balanced tourism ecosystem that extends beyond the core event itself.

These findings suggest that World Cup visitors are likely to view the tournament as part of a broader travel experience rather than a standalone sporting event. As explored in TGM's article What Travelers Say vs. What They Do: Rethinking Travel in 2025, travelers are increasingly planning trips with a clear purpose in mind. They are also combining multiple experiences that reflect their personal interests, lifestyles, and motivations. This creates opportunities for destinations, hospitality providers, and tourism operators to capture spending beyond match-day activities.

Why This Matters for Hospitality and Tourism Brands

While football remains the primary motivation for many visitors, modern World Cup travel activities increasingly extend well beyond the matches themselves. Today's sports tourists often combine multiple objectives within a single trip. Leisure travel can go along with shopping and wellness activities. Cultural exploration can be combined with food experiences or social events.

As for brands and companies working within the spheres of tourism and hospitality, the World Cup 2026 will create many opportunities in the travel life cycle of tourists.

There is still much time left for brands to develop initiatives before the tourist influx from abroad intensifies in June. These may consist of local tourism bundles, nightlife promotions, shopping partnerships, gastronomy experiences, fan-zone activities, or cross-selling experiences beyond accommodation.

Need Faster Consumer Insights Before World Cup 2026?

As World Cup 2026 approaches, even small operational adjustments and localized campaigns can help brands respond more effectively to changing traveler expectations and spending patterns.

TGM Research helps brands quickly understand: World Cup traveler behavior, tourism activity preferences, sports betting engagement, mobility and ride-hailing behavior and regional payment preferences.

Through fast-turnaround consumer research and omnibus research solutions, businesses can gain actionable insights before World Cup 2026 begins and position themselves to capture emerging opportunities across the tourism, hospitality, transportation, and entertainment sectors.