Unprecedented Corporate Travel Boom Sparked by World Cup: Canada Sees 295% Surge in Bookings
Corporate travel to the host cities of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is witnessing an unprecedented surge. According to data released by Navan, the global AI-powered business travel platform, business travel bookings to Canada have skyrocketed 295% year-over-year. Meanwhile, bookings to U.S. host cities have increased by 46%.
Driving Canada’s explosive growth is Toronto, with a combined hotel and flight booking spend up by a staggering 486%. This is despite flight prices dropping 26% compared to the same period in 2025. In the United States, corporate hotel and flight booking volumes to host cities have increased by 46%, with average hotel prices jumping 30% to $1,592 per trip. The highest booking volumes are in the San Francisco Bay Area (average hotel cost: $1,641) and New York/New Jersey, which will host the finals (average hotel cost: $1,836).
The tech sector is dominating corporate World Cup travel, accounting for 51% of hotel and flight booking spend in host cities during the tournament period (June 11-July 19). The fastest-growing sector, however, is professional services, with spending up 130% year-over-year. Los Angeles has emerged as the top destination for bleisure travel, with Saturday stayovers rising from 44% to 52% and bookings more than doubling.
“While headlines right now are focusing on softer-than-expected tourism demand and lagging leisure hotel bookings, our corporate data tells a different story,” said Dane Molter, SVP of Navan Group Travel Marketplace. “Companies are embracing the World Cup as the ultimate can’t-miss event, and travel to North America is surging.”
Travelers are also booking significantly earlier, with Toronto flights booked 51 days earlier on average and Philadelphia hotels locked in 33 days earlier compared to 2025.
Source: BusinessWire