(The Center Square) – The six FIFA World Cup games scheduled for Seattle in June and July should boost the city’s tourism industry, despite the cancellation of thousands of room reservations that hotels had blocked out for the games organizers.
But what’s unclear is how much of an uplift there will be.
Seattle Tourism officials have lowered their economic impact forecast by about 10%, but that was before the Iran war, which has caused a spike in jet fuel prices and higher airfares, particularly between the U.S. and international destinations.
“It’s going to be a net positive for Seattle,’ said Michael Stathokostopoulos, senior director of hospitality analytics at the CoStar Group. “But obviously, a lot of things are happening, such as higher airfares because of the effects of the war.”
Stathokostopoulos said potential visitors to Seattle and other cities hosting the games in North America are looking at the cost of their trips and, if they don’t cancel, scaling back the number of days they will spend.
While initial demand for tickets has been softer than anticipated, Stathokostopoulos said he expects more interest in the later rounds of the games.
The first four games in June in Seattle are early-round games, but the last two in early July will feature yet-to-be determined teams that have advanced to the later stages.
Stathokostopoulus said he won’t read too much into FIFA’s cancellation of the room blocks.
“They are motivated to book as many rooms as possible, because they can cancel 90 days out under hotel rules,” he said.
He said he did not know how many room cuts were in Seattle and other cities, but they “were deep.”
FIFA officials didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Visit Seattle officials said the room blocks canceled were for FIFA officials, sponsors, media, etc.
“Those rooms are now released back to hotels for fans and other visitors to book,” said Michael Woody, chief engagement officer for Visit Seattle.
“We’re hopeful that Seattle’s appeal as one of the only host cities with a downtown stadium, where fans can easily walk from their hotels to the matches.”
The latest forecast by Visit Seattle, released in late March, predicted that the city’s total economic impact from the games would be $845.6 million, with direct business sales of $593 million and state and local tax revenue of $95.8 million.
Visit Seattle spokesman Joey Thompson said the tourism organizations now expect more U.S. visitors to attend the games, with fewer international visitors than originally anticipated.
