International air travel to the United States weakened in the second quarter of 2026, even as the FIFA World Cup created a major new source of visitor demand. A total of 10.3 million international visitors arrived in the United States by air during Q2, according to the National Travel and Tourism Office. That was 6.1% below the same period in 2025.
The decline was strongest among overseas visitors. Air arrivals from overseas markets fell 8% to 7.4 million, while arrivals from Canada declined 0.9% to 2 million and Mexico fell 0.5% to 886,000. At the same time, the World Cup generated significant traffic. NTTO estimates that around 471,000 international air travellers visited the United States for the tournament during the quarter. Of these, approximately 341,000 came from overseas markets, 38,000 from Canada and 91,000 from Mexico.
The contrast is important. A global mega-event was able to bring hundreds of thousands of additional travellers into the country, but it was not enough to reverse the wider decline in international air arrivals. For tourism and business events, this shows how difficult it can be for even the largest events to change the direction of a much broader visitor market. Major sporting events can create strong short-term demand in host cities, but wider factors such as air access, travel costs, economic conditions and entry requirements continue to shape overall international travel.
World Cup Visitors Made Up A Significant Share Of Some Markets
The World Cup’s impact was not evenly spread across international markets. Tournament visitors represented 4.6% of all overseas air travellers arriving in the United States during Q2. The share was much higher among Mexican travellers at 10.3%, while World Cup visitors accounted for 1.9% of Canadian air arrivals. These numbers show the scale of the event within individual source markets. The United States co-hosted the 2026 FIFA World Cup with Canada and Mexico, creating travel between several cities and countries during the tournament. For airlines, hotels and host destinations, this generated a concentrated period of demand around matches and fan travel.
But the broader inbound market remained weaker. The United Kingdom was the largest overseas source market during the quarter, with around 1 million air visitors. India followed with 602,000, Brazil with 461,000, Japan with 423,000 and Germany with 368,000. Together, these five markets accounted for around 35% of total overseas air visitation. The mix is important for destinations because long-haul international visitors generally stay longer and spend more than travellers from neighbouring markets.
Overseas visitors stayed an average of 17.5 nights during Q2 and spent around $1,938 per trip in the United States. Canadian air visitors stayed an average of 9.4 nights and spent $1,129, while Mexican air visitors stayed 9.5 nights and spent $1,537. This means a decline in long-haul traffic can have an impact beyond simple arrival numbers.
New York, Miami And Los Angeles Remain Major Gateways
International air travel remained heavily concentrated in a small number of U.S. destinations. New York City received approximately 2.6 million international air visitors during the second quarter, making it the most visited city. Miami followed with 1.3 million, while Los Angeles and Orlando each received around 1.2 million international air visitors. Las Vegas welcomed approximately 829,000. Together, these five cities accounted for 64% of international air visitation to the United States.
At state level, Florida led with 2.7 million visitors, followed by New York with 2.6 million and California with 2.2 million. Texas received 924,000 and Nevada 846,000. The concentration of international visitors in these markets also matters for the MICE industry. New York, Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami and Los Angeles are major convention, exhibition and corporate event destinations. Changes in international air demand can therefore influence not only leisure tourism but also the pool of potential international delegates, exhibitors and business travellers.
Large convention centres and strong hotel infrastructure remain important, but international events also depend on the ease and cost of reaching a destination from major source markets. A decline in overseas arrivals can create a more difficult environment even when domestic event demand remains strong.
Weakness Continued Into July
The softer international travel picture did not end with the second quarter. In July, non-U.S. citizen air passenger arrivals from foreign countries fell another 3% compared with July 2025, according to NTTO data. Overseas visitor arrivals fell more sharply, dropping 7%. Total international visitor arrivals, including all modes of transport, were much more stable at 6.25 million, only 0.1% below July 2025. Growth from Canada and Mexico helped offset the continued decline from overseas markets.
This difference highlights the importance of looking beyond headline international arrival figures. A destination can maintain relatively stable total visitor numbers while still losing travellers from longer-haul markets. For airlines, premium hotels, international events and destinations targeting higher-spending visitors, that shift can be important.
It also creates a different challenge for the United States after the World Cup. The tournament provided an exceptional reason to travel, particularly for fans following national teams across multiple host cities. Once that temporary demand disappears, the underlying strength of the inbound market becomes more important.
