One big question for North America travel is: how strong travel demand will be for the FIFA World Cup, which kicks off in just a few weeks. This year the matches are being played in cities throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico, and at the beginning of the year expectations among destination marketing organizations and hotels was very high -- and then it seemed to taper off a bit. 

In this episode we’re talking with editor in chief Johanna Jainchill and Erik Hanson, the senior vice president and head of government relations at U.S.’ prime travel advocacy organization, the U.S. Travel Association, about some of the issues facing inbound U.S. travel. Among our subjects: The unique attributes of World Cup travel, the calls for travel boycotts, perception versus reality when it comes to U.S. travel and the importance of getting Brand USA back on its funding feet.

This episode was recorded May 11and has been edited for length and clarity.

Episode sponsor:

This episode is sponsored by Tourism Cares https://www.tourismcares.org.

Related reports:

Cover story: The U.S. is playing on a global stage https://www.travelweekly.com/North-America-Travel/Playing-on-a-global-stage-World-Cup

Hotel trade group says World Cup demand is below expectations https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Hotel-News/World-Cup-demand-is-below-expectations

U.S. Travel Association condemns travel advisory issued for World Cup https://www.travelweekly.com/Travel-News/Government/US-Travel-condemns-travel-advisory-issued-for-World-Cup

U.S. Travel Association: https://www.ustravel.org

Correction: An earlier version of these show notes misspelled the name of Erik Hanson.