With the 2026 FIFA World Cup in full swing across the United States, Canada and Mexico, passion-driven travel is gaining momentum among Chinese travelers, as football fans extend their stays, add more stops to their itineraries and venture beyond host cities, Airbnb data showed.
Airbnb, a US-based online accommodation platform, said bookings by Chinese users for stays in World Cup host cities during the tournament period tripled from a year earlier.
Chinese travelers spent an average of nine nights across the three host countries during the tournament period, with many extending their itineraries beyond match days, the company said.
Los Angeles, Vancouver and the New York-New Jersey metropolitan area were the three most-searched World Cup destinations among Chinese users.
Qi Yue, growth operations lead at Airbnb China, said travelers were increasingly using host cities as starting points for wider trips rather than limiting their journeys to match venues.
