2026年体育旅游报告

C A N A D A ,M E X I C O&U . S . Sport tourism:Measuring fanappetite Who is traveling for sport, what motivates them,and what barriers stand in their way? /Research Reality Contents Foreword & key takeaways Who are sport tourists? What motivates sports event travelers in 2026? Creating local fandom through international sport FIFA World Cup 2026 deep dive Foreword The year 2026 will bring a packed calendar of global sport—from the FIFA World Cup to theWinter Olympics—and with it, a new wave of travel tied to live events. This report examines howsports travel is evolving across North America, and what it means for destinations, rights holdersand brands looking to connect with fans. We highlight clear differences in who travels, how far they’re willing to go and what makes a tripfeel worthwhile. Mexico shows the highest incidence of sports travel (49%), followed by Canada(44%) and the U.S. (32%). Canadians are also more likely than Americans to have traveledinternationally for an event, reflecting long-standing cross-border habits. While the match-upmatters, fans consistently emphasize the total experience, including atmosphere, excitement andteam allegiance, even as cost remains a key barrier. The pages ahead unpack these motivations and the opportunities leading into 2026. Nicole PikeGlobal Head, YouGov Sport Key takeaways United States Mexico Canada Mexico has the highest sporttravel intent and strongestsoccer/World Cup pull amongthe three markets Canada shows a high rate ofsport travel, with stronginterest in multi-city eventitineraries Domestic, drive-to sport traveldominates in the U.S. withlower World Cup and cross-border engagement •32% of Americans have traveled for asporting event, and 11% plan to do soin the nextyear.•International sport travel is rare (2%).•Sport travel motivationcenters onsupporting my team (46%) and theatmosphere and excitement of liveevents (44%). •49% have traveled for sport and 32%plan to in the next 12 months; 14% havetraveled internationally for an event.•Soccer leads: 80% of Mexicans are fans,and 53% usually watch at least someWorld Cup matches.•Value is key: the top barrier to travel iscost. •44% have traveled for sport; 24% planto in the next year.•Canadians are most likely to followmulti-location formats (23% wouldattend across multiple destinations).•Canada is the most preferred hostcountry to visit for a FIFA World Cup2026 match across 17 marketssurveyed. Who are sporttourists–and arethey travelinginternationally? Nearly half ofMexicans havetraveled toattend asporting event Have you ever taken a trip for leisure (i.e.not for business/professionalreasons) specifically to attend a sporting event? Mexico Canada 44% 49%* This compared to 44% ofCanadians and 32% ofAmericans. ofCanadianhavetraveled to attend asporting event ofAmericanshavetraveled to attend asporting event ofMexicanshavetraveled to attend asporting event Among Americans, men are morelikely to have traveled to attend asporting event than women. Canadian Millennials are morelikely to have done so than othergenerations. In the U.S., sporttravel is roughly equal acrossgenerations. and Millennials Canadians mostlikely to havetraveledinternationally fora sporting event About one in five Canadians havetraveled to another country to attend asports event. This may be due to thefact that many Canadian sport teamsplay in primarily American leagues(NBA, MLB, NHL). Americans, on the other hand, rarelyleave their country, with only one infifty ever having gone abroad forsport. Mexicans fall in the middle, with 14%having left the country to attend asporting event. Who will travel for sports next year? Mexicans are most likely to travel for a sporting event in the next year. Americans are least likely to do so at 11%. 32%Mexico 11%United States 24% ofCanadiansplan to travel to attend asporting event in the next 12 months ofMexicansplan to travel to attend asporting event in the next 12 months ofAmericansplan to travel to attend asporting event in the next 12 months What motivatessports eventtravelers? Atmosphere and supporting one’s team are top reasons to travel Live event atmosphere is a top draw for sports travelers across the continent, but for Americans, “supporting my team” is numberone.A smaller but still significant proportion would travel to support a specific athlete. Live music and food trucks pair best with sporting events Food and live music are big draws for North American sporting event travelers. Free swag giveaways also appeal to many from everymarket. Which of the following types of entertainment would you be interested in attending/engaging with if theywere associated with a sporting event? (sports event travelers) Cost is the dominant barrier to sport travelers across all market While cost is a major hurdle, safety and security have become a part of travel decisions for many sports event travelers. Ratesofconcern are especially high among Canadia