Where Are Soccer Fans Traveling for This Summer's World Cup?

How the actual games will go notwithstanding, a lot of the discourse surrounding this summer’s World Cup — hosted by the U.S., Mexico and Canada — has focused on ticket prices. There are several very understandable reasons for that, from the high cost to the head-spinning details like $300 match parking. If you are looking to go to a match, it’s also quite possible that you’re looking into lodging; for domestic supporters, the group stage matches featuring the U.S. are all on the West Coast, for instance.

What are the games that are drawing the most interest? Airbnb recently released some data about that very subject. Some of the big takeaways are far from shocking: among the matches where Airbnb is seeing the most demand for housing are group stage matches from two of the three host nations for the tournament: Mexico and the United States.

Others feature some of the world’s biggest names: games featuring both France and Norway at MetLife Stadium are also on the most in-demand list, likely fueled in part by fans looking to see Kylian Mbappé and Erling Haaland in person.

The top five countries searching for lodging in cities hosting World Cup matches around those dates are the three host nations, along with the U.K. and France. Other countries with notable amounts of people searching for lodging in this vein include some other traditional powerhouses, including Germany, Brazil and Argentina.

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Airbnb’s breakdown of the data is well worth checking out in full. Some of the other notable conclusions the company has shared is that German travelers seem to be seeking to visit the largest number of cities, while travelers from Argentina have the longest stays planned. Around 15% of the people using Airbnb to book World Cup lodgings are part of Gen Z, with many traveling from destinations overseas — Glasgow and Tokyo among them.

Meet your guide

Tobias Carroll

Tobias Carroll lives and writes in New York City, and has been covering a wide variety of subjects — including (but not limited to) books, soccer and drinks — for many years. His writing has been published by the likes of the Los Angeles Times, Pitchfork, Literary Hub, Vulture, Punch, the New York Times and Men’s Journal. At InsideHook, he has…