Trump effect: World Cup to cut 'tens of thousands' of hotel reservations

The World Cup isn't bringing in the kind of tourism that hotels appear to have thought it would, and now they're starting to panic, the Daily Beast reported on Wednesday.

Room rates are being drastically reduced, and the Beast suggested that anti-American sentiment is prompting people to stay away from the big events. Last year, hotel company executives thought that the World Cup would bring in millions of international visitors and give local economies a $30.5 billion economic boost.

It hasn't happened, and now FIFA is canceling tens of thousands of reserved hotel rooms across the U.S.

Speaking to The Financial Times, Lior Sekler, chief commercial officer at hotel operator HRI Hospitality, said that the Trump administration is to blame.

“Obviously, people’s desire to come to the United States right now is down,” she said. She referred to the unpopular war in Iran that has sent gas prices soaring all over the world. Another issue is Trump's mass deportation efforts.

In February, acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons refused to commit to pausing Trump's arrests of immigrants during the World Cup. Rep. Nellie Pou (D-N.J.) asked Lyons about the games that will be in her district at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

Visitors’ “confidence is plummeting and jeopardizing the World Cup," she said, asking him to pause arrests around FIFA events, The Guardian reported.

Lyons refused.

“ICE, specifically Homeland Security Investigations, is a key part of the overall security apparatus for the World Cup,” Lyons said. “We are dedicated to securing that operation and we are dedicated to the security of all of our participants as well as visitors.”

A large number of legal visitors will be coming to the U.S. for tourism. However, there have already been tourists caught up in the deportation efforts. The Guardian reported on Karen Newton, who traveled to the United States for a "trip of a lifetime." Her visa was valid and she looked forward to sunshine. Then she was detained by ICE. She wasn't charged, but remained in custody for six weeks, even though she had a valid British passport and a valid visa that had never expired. She had no criminal record.

“I don’t even have parking tickets in the background anywhere,” she told The Guardian. “I am not a dangerous criminal. I didn’t enter the country illegally, and I had everything I needed to be there.”

She sounded the alarm to travelers worldwide that this could happen to anyone coming into the United States.

ICE agents are given a bonus every time they detain someone. The fear is that it incentivizes arresting anyone, so agents can make extra money and the courts can sort it out from there.

FIFA said it expects a record 5.5 million fans to attend World Cup games, with at least 1.5 million coming to the U.S. from other countries, the New York Times reported this week.

If World Cup attendees aren't safe to come to the games, the turnout could be a lot less.

This week, outlets reported that FIFA was weighing whether to ask Trump directly to pause the ICE raids during the tournament. Whether or not they do, it appears they've already accepted that fewer people than anticipated will come to the games.

There are 11 cities in the U.S. scheduled to host matches for the World Cup from July 11 to July 19. There are also teams coming from countries that are currently banned from travel to the United States.

It will be the first test before the 2028 Olympics, whether or not the U.S. under Trump can bring in travelers and tourists without pausing the mass deportation campaign.

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