Some Atlantans secretly feared we had spent years preparing to host a huge World Cup party, and no one would show.
Well, they did show up.
Now the question is whether they’ll come back — and, as Atlanta officials hope, bring more tourism and business to the city in the years to come.
More than half a million visitors descended on Atlanta’s FIFA Fan Fest in Centennial Olympic Park downtown throughout the tournament, making it one of the most attended fan fests in the country. A total of 544,516, both locals and those from other places, attended the eight World Cup matches at Atlanta Stadium.
One of the most welcoming touches has been the stadium’s trademark low prices for concessions, like $2 hot dogs and sodas and $5 cheeseburgers.
“It just sends a very welcoming message to visitors that hey, we want you to have a great experience here,” said Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO William Pate. “Those are the kind of little things that people remember.”
That’s crucial at a time that international travel to the U.S. is struggling.
The United States was the only major nation in the world to see a decline in travel last year, with a 5.5% drop, said U.S. Travel President and CEO Geoff Freeman.
The decrease comes as Trump administration policies including travel bans and visa restrictions, along with political turmoil, have deterred some people from visiting the U.S.
That also cut into international travel to Atlanta for the World Cup, with only about 8% of hotel bookings coming from outside the U.S., versus expectations for about 20%, according to Pate.
Pate hopes travelers’ experience in downtown Atlanta compels them to return.
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
“Hopefully … they’ll go back to their homes and talk to their friends about all the great things they saw” — and book a trip to Atlanta in the future, Pate said.
International travelers can bring lucrative business — with the average overseas traveler spending about $4,000 per person, and the average international World Cup traveler projected to spend about $5,000 per person, according to the U.S. Travel Association, an industry group.
Ed Bastian, CEO of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines said with the World Cup, the U.S. “has done a wonderful job of showing what a great country we are in welcoming visitation and getting the international (travel to the U.S.) back again.”
Celeste Mangone, who traveled to Atlanta from Buenos Aires for the semifinal between Argentina and England, said it was her first time in the city and called it “Beautiful. I love it. It’s very clean, very perfect.”
She said she wants to come back. “I want to stay longer,” she said.
But not everyone may return. Andrew Pearson from England came for both of England’s matches in Atlanta, visiting the World of Coca-Cola and taking the streetcar.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
“The stadium’s brilliant,” he said. “The thing we like most though is the fact that it’s in the city center. … Everywhere else we’ve been, the stadium’s been 20 miles out of the city.”
But, he said he probably wouldn’t return to Atlanta. “I feel like we’ve probably done Atlanta.”
“Enjoyed it. Lovely, lovely city,” said Steven Hartshorne, who was traveling with Pearson. “But there are other cities to visit.”
Broader impact
The World Cup has been “a great catalyst,” driving $950 million of development in the months and years leading up to it, said Pate. Centennial Yards across from the stadium, South Downtown nearby and the redevelopment of CNN Center into The Center (stylized as The CTR) all were rushing to open or debut some of their first phases before the matches began.
“You kind of have these deadlines, if you will, to get things done, and so now we have all this cool development that we want to show off,” Pate said. “To have the World Cup and have the world here, it’s a great way to start.”
Pate’s organization used the tournament as a way to entertain customers in hopes of attracting future conventions to the city. The ACVB and the Georgia World Congress Center Authority together spent about $1.2 million on World Cup tickets and a suite to host 95 clients at matches. Pate said the aim is to drive convention business for the next five years.
Tourism and state leaders also used the World Cup as an opportunity to drive future visits to destinations around Georgia.
The state Department of Economic Development hosted an expo at the Georgia World Congress Center next to the stadium on World Cup match days, with tourism organizations from Savannah, Macon, Ellijay, the Golden Isles and Jekyll Island, Lake Lanier, Augusta, Athens and other destinations around the state.
Credit: Estela Muñoz/AJC
Credit: Estela Muñoz/AJC
The idea was for them to introduce themselves to a global audience, including people who may be learning about Georgia for the first time, said Rick Toller, chief marketing officer for the Department of Economic Development.
Nohemí Reynoso with Pick Ellijay and the Gilmer Chamber said one visitor from Argentina “was really surprised that there were even mountains in the state of Georgia.”
More than 70,000 people visited the expo overall. Toller said he heard anecdotally that some travelers were extending their trips or planning future trips.
Tourists had “the opportunity to meet locals who know these places best” — not just look at travel brochures, he said. “Visitors got to hear these stories firsthand,” and got firsthand recommendations.
The event had live music and a peach giveaway, with more than 1,000 peaches handed out in less than half an hour during the busiest periods, according to Toller.
Credit: Estela Muñoz/AJC
Credit: Estela Muñoz/AJC
“It has been absolutely astounding how popular peaches are to people from around the world,” he said. “It is especially rewarding to watch people eat a peach for the first time. You think about the texture of a peach and the hair and how messy it can be, how sweet and succulent it can be. It’s fun to watch people try to tackle that.”
International travel challenges
The U.S. had about 11 million fewer international visitors in 2025 than in 2019, Freeman said. “So we have a very serious issue in terms of our ability to attract visitors. … It has a massive economic impact,” he said.
The World Cup has highlighted how valuable international travel to the U.S. is “from a diplomacy standpoint, from a goodwill standpoint.”
“We saw just how fulfilled those travelers were, how it shaped a more favorable perception of the United States,” Freeman said.
“No one has enough money to pay for the PR that we got out of the World Cup,” he said. “It did something in showcasing … the real America.”
Freeman said he thinks nearly all Americans “have taken some degree of pride in what has been a fantastic World Cup, and … foreign travelers discovering the things that we probably take for granted, whether it’s air conditioning and ice cubes, our beautiful stadiums, you know, ranch dressing and Buc-ees.”
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
“The things we take for granted, foreign travelers have made us appreciate that,” he said. The World Cup “was a magical moment.”
So, “the challenge for Atlanta is how do you stay front of mind?” Freeman said. “Now you’ve got the people’s attention. How do you keep it?”
For all of the host cities, he added, the task is now: “How do we make sure this is a springboard rather than something we reminisce about for years to come?”
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