Kansas City still has work to do before travel surge for World Cup in 2026

Billions of tourism dollars are on the line as the U.S., including Kansas City, gets ready to host World Cup soccer next year.

To help the metro area get ready, U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-Kan., hosted her fifth community conversation.

Erik Hansen of the U.S. Travel Association made a special trip from Washington, D.C., to attend the gathering in Mission, Kansas, on Thursday.

The meeting came the day after his organization issued a report warning that a backlog from the U.S. State Department issuing visas could prevent international guests from coming to Kansas City or other U.S. World Cup venues at all.

"We're concerned that there will be mistakes made to cut critical staff that are actually going to have a huge return on investment for the United States," Hansen said. "So, if there's a hiring freeze within the State Department, visa wait times go up, we could lose $19 billion just from visa delays alone. That's a huge missed opportunity for the country."

The report notes the World Cup is part of what’s expected to be a historic travel surge.

It includes the Ryder Cup golf competition this year, the U.S. 250th birthday celebration next year and the Olympics in 2028.

Davids said securing federal funding and adequate busing to get guests from Kansas City International Airport to their destinations during the World Cup are important priorities.

An estimated 600,000 people are expected to come to Kansas City for the six games, including a semifinal.

"Other much larger cities that are hosting this have built in mass transit that we just don't have here. And I know there's a transportation and infrastructure community set up, specifically, among stakeholders in the region to think about that," Davids said.

She said another concern in the process of being addressed is providing adequate housing for World Cup guests.

Many metro area communities have cracked down on short-term rentals.

Davids suggested some local governments might want to consider a World Cup exemption.

"Based on the conversations we heard here today, there are a lot of folks who recognize that during the World Cup, that's a different ball game. It's a different set of circumstances that are unique," she said.

The World Cup games are scheduled to begin in June 2026.