World Cup 2026 May Bring 1 Million Tourists to Quintana Roo

Quintana Roo, Mexico — The Advanced Research Center for Sustainable Tourism (STARC) estimates it is feasible to reach one million tourists in Quintana Roo thanks to the 2026 World Cup, in addition to other factors.

“Derived from the World Cup topic; we are expecting a better year for the total number of tourists to the state; with a contraction of approximately 3.5% in 2025 and growth of about 5% in 2026, we are foreseeing around 21 million,” anticipated Francisco Madrid, director of STARC.

Diplomatic Conflict Between US and Canada Would Bring Tourists to Quintana Roo

In addition to the Soccer World Cup topic, the conflict between the United States and Canada continues to drive the growth of travelers from the maple leaf country to the Mexican Caribbean.

“The data we are seeing is a recovery of seats for the World Cup and it must also be said, taking advantage of the Canadian market that made the difference in 2025 with growth of approximately between 12 and 13%,” explained the academic from the Universidad Anáhuac of Cancún.

The STARC estimate confirms the numbers released in October 2025 during the presentation of the 2026 World Cup Strategy, when it was announced that the Mexican Caribbean has set a goal to attract at least one million overnight tourists, in addition to the volume of visitors that Quintana Roo annually captures during 2026.

The estimation is based on the connection facilities and proximity that Cancún has with the 16 cities in the United States and Mexico that are official venues for matches and national teams of the World Cup, plus another 15 cities that will host training camps for the participating teams.

This implies that fans will be able to have access to the greatest number of matches and training camps of the entire event if they base themselves in one of the destinations in Quintana Roo, explained Bernardo Cueto Riestra, state secretary of Tourism, during the official presentation of the strategy.