2026 World Cup Triggers Corporate Travel Boom in Canada and U.S.

Navan (NASDAQ: NAVN), the global AI-powered business travel and expense management platform, today released year-over-year data revealing global enterprises are leaning in heavily to the upcoming 2026 World Cup, with hotel and flight bookings for business travel to World Cup host cities up 46% to the U.S. and a massive 295% to Canada.

“While headlines right now are focusing on softer-than-expected tourism demand and lagging leisure hotel bookings, our corporate data tells a different story,” said Dane Molter, SVP, Navan Group Travel Marketplace. “Companies are embracing the World Cup as the ultimate can’t miss event, and travel to North America is surging. Businesses know they can’t afford to sit this one out, and they’re using Navan to lock down bookings early and actively control their spend.”

The data reveals standout destinations and price changes for World Cup cities across the North American host nations for the tournament period.

• Canada’s Toronto Takeover: Canada is the breakout leader with overall corporate hotel and flight booking volume up 295% year-over-year, despite flight prices dropping 26% compared to the same period in 2025. This national surge in bookings is being driven by Toronto, where total combined hotel and flight booking spend skyrocketed 486%.
• The U.S. Power Players: Corporate hotel and flight booking volumes in U.S. host cities are up 46%, with average hotel prices jumping 30% overall to $1,592 on average per trip, compared to the same period last year. The highest hotel and flight booking volumes amongst U.S. host cities are SF Bay Area with the average hotel booking costing $1,641, and NY/NJ (the Finals host), with the average hotel booking costing $1,836.

The data also highlights exactly which industries are driving the upward trend, and how employees are choosing to travel.

• Industries Leading the Charge: The tech sector dominates the footprint, accounting for 51% of hotel and flight booking spend in host cities over the World Cup period on the Navan platform. Professional Services is the fastest-growing sector, with hotel and flight booking spend jumping 130% compared to the same period in 2025.
• Booking Window Shift: Travelers are securing their spots significantly earlier, with Toronto flights booked for the World Cup period 51 days earlier (from 69 to 119 days in advance compared to the same period in 2025) – the biggest window shift of any city – and Philadelphia hotels locked in 33 days earlier (from 59 to 91 days in advance), the largest hotel window shift in the U.S.
• LA’s Bleisure Boom: For the World Cup period, Los Angeles is the top destination city for bleisure travel, with flight data showing that Saturday stayovers have risen from 44% to 52%, and hotel and flight bookings have more than doubled (+163%).

Methodology: The above data was pulled in May 2026, comparing global flight and hotel bookings through Navan for the World Cup host cities during the tournament period (June 11 – July 19, 2026), against bookings for the locations and period in 2025. Analysis was restricted to customers who launched before January 1, 2025, to account for Navan’s customer growth.