Dutch travel bookings to U.S. lag ahead of 2026 World Cup

Travel bookings to the United States for next summer are falling behind, according to the travel industry association ANVR. The U.S. will co-host the World Cup with Canada and Mexico in June and July. Reports have suggested for some time that the country is becoming a less popular destination for travelers.

A spokesperson for ANVR said it is unclear exactly how big the booking shortfall is. Part of the reason may be that football fans are arranging their flights and accommodation independently, rather than through travel agencies. Not everyone yet knows if they have secured tickets for the matches. Later this month, the KNVB will reveal how much interest there is from Dutch fans in attending the World Cup.

“There also been a lot of negative news about the U.S., which typically slows bookings,” the spokesperson said. “The association expects reservations to increase as the World Cup draws nearer. “People continue to book because the country still has plenty to offer, and that hasn’t changed.”

ANVR notes that in December, bookings for trips to the U.S. were down 10 percent compared with the same month in 2024. Additionally, Dutch travelers tended to book their North American vacations much closer to their travel dates.

“This suggests that early bookings for summer 2026 to this region were significantly behind in December,” the association said. A few months earlier, ANVR had noted that U.S. bookings appeared to be recovering, partly thanks to a favorable dollar exchange rate for travelers from eurozone countries.

Additional signs point to the U.S. becoming a less popular destination. On Friday, AD published photos of an almost empty flight to the U.S. The newspaper also referenced data from aviation analyst Cirium, which showed that in recent months, bookings for Schiphol-to-U.S. flights in July were 23 percent lower than the same period last year.

KLM is not providing information on ticket sales to the U.S. ahead of Air France-KLM’s annual results on February 19.