Kathy Nelson, the president and CEO of Visit KC and a force behind Kansas City’s bid to become a World Cup city, stood steadfast on Thursday in the face of mounting predictions that crowds may fall far short of the oft-touted projection of 650,000 visitors.

“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for us,” Nelson said. “We didn’t work 10 years for this to be a flop.”

While acknowledging both adverse political and other “headwinds” — including what she still considers problematically high, although now decreasing, hotel prices — Nelson said she was not ready to abandon the 650,000 projection.

“So our research has shown that number consistently,” Nelson said. “We would probably not have seen these headwinds coming when it comes to federal issues like the visa bond program and visa waivers and all of that.”

Nelson was referring to a policy, put in place by the Trump administration, requiring visitors from some 50 countries — including several World Cup countries such as Tunisia and Algeria, which are playing in Kansas City — to pay bonds of up to $15,000 per person to enter the United States, with the money returnable upon departure.

“But I still think we’re 30 days out,” Nelson said. “We should let this ride. We are still marketing heavily to not only countries, but also to our domestic travelers. I’m not ready to change that number yet. Everything we’ve done for research shows that we can expect that number. There could be some headwinds, like I said. That may change that slightly, but I still feel pretty strong about people are coming.”

Nelson’s comments were made to reporters following a speech she made Thursday evening to kick off Visit KC’s annual state-of-tourism dinner, held at Municipal Auditorium, and attended by some 500 people central to Kansas City’s hospitality, hotel, restaurant and tourism industries.

Themed “Arriving On Center Stage,” the event focused on the World Cup making Kansas City a destination for global visitors. As such, the LEX, or lower exhibition hall, was decorated in a 1960s “airline” fashion with staff dressed as pilots and flight attendants with neck scarfs, and ground crew directing attendees with lighted marshalling batons. The registration desk was a replica of a ticket counter.

The center aisle was decorated as a runway.

“Of course we’re just a few weeks away from a milestone moment for our entire community,” Nelson said in her prepared speech to the attendees. “And it’s no secret: This opportunity has been a decade in the making — and actually even longer than that. It was a dream of Lamar Hunt (founder of the Kansas City Chiefs) to host World Cup matches at Arrowhead Stadium.”

Kansas City World Cup expectations

She spoke of Kansas City making itself “undeniable” in its enthusiastic bid to become a World Cup city.

“But the work,” Nelson said, “began long before anyone arrived for a site visit. This community has invested in itself to be prepared for every opportunity that comes our way.”

She highlighted two examples: The Kansas City International Airport terminal that opened in February 2023 and the Kansas City streetcar, which opened to the public in May 2016, 10 years ago this week. A north extension to the riverfront is set to open May 18.

“The presence of a global sporting event has put us on (the) radar of audiences worldwide,” Nelson said. “We’re taking advantage of our direct-to-consumer advertising that showcases Kansas City in five languages. It’s an unprecedented and unmatched moment to introduce more of the world to the heart of America.”

She noted positive World Cup signs that included: Sojern, a travel marketing platform, reporting a 31% growth in confirmed flights to Kansas City compared to 2025, with the leading markets being Argentina, Ecuador and Canada. On TripAdvisor, online searches, clicks and pageviews for Kansas City have increased 19% over 2025, with inquiries from international markets showing significant leaps: Argentina up 100%, Ecuador up 650%, interest from Ecuador up 1,100%.

She touted Visit KC trips to Argentina and the Netherlands to promote Kansas City to major media outlets, tour operators and travel agents. These efforts, she said, have been bolstered by a new, multi-country bilingual marketing campaign along with direct-to-consumer marketing in five languages.

“Thanks to our central location . . .We are within a day’s drive of 50 million Americans, and, in many ways, that audience is more important than ever,” Nelson said.

Facing ‘headwinds’

She also acknowledged “challenges,” noting that an annual study, known as the “MMGY Portrait of European Travelers,” reported that 55% of European travelers find the U.S. less appealing for leisure travel because of country’s foreign and domestic policy.

She spoke of the Trump administration’s $15,000 visa bond requirement and said that the travel industry and representatives of other World Cup cities have been in Washington lobbying lawmakers for policy changes.

“It’s no secret that all of us host cities continue to face headwinds despite our efforts,” Nelson said.

She remained positive.

“When we started out bid, our goal was one base camp, and we’d be lucky if we got a match,” Nelson said. “We are hosting six World Cup matches, including a quarter-final and four base camps. . .This is where Kansas City has a chance to shine as a gathering place for fans from near and far to create memories that are once-in-a-lifetime.”

Nelson’s comments, and the annual event, came just days after the American Hotel & Lodging Association released a survey on Monday showing that reservations in World Cup host cities in the U.S. are lagging far behind expectations. Kansas City, the survey said, was “the most negatively impacted host market,” with between 85% and 90% of hotel managers in Kansas City reporting lower-than-expected bookings, and bookings trailing a typical June or July.

Speaking to reporters, Nelson did not comment on the survey. Having just returned from vacation and the marriage of a daughter, she was aware of it, but had not yet read it.

“I would tell you,” she said, “that when they think we’re the most impacted, I don’t know who they spoke to. Which hotels did they call? Did they call every single hotel in our city to get that?”

Hotel prices are too high. Opportunity for local visitors

Among Nelson’s other comments:

High hotel prices in Kansas City — which during World Cup matches are still priced a still two to three times normal daily rates — remain a problem: “I would say yes,” she said. “I think hotels need to understand what the market can bear. And it’s time to probably level, set where they are. I don’t check it day-to-day, what the average daily rate is on hotels. But I know that these are great people doing really good things, and they’re working really hard together. And one or two of them need to say, ‘OK, this is our rate,’ and the others will follow soon. . . .They’re talking about it. I know they talk about it on a daily basis.

FIFA and travel industry leaders are appealing to lawmakers about changing visa fees and bonds restrictions for foreign visitors: “Yes, absolutely,” Nelson said. “We’re talking to representatives, to senators, to their staffs. There’s a FIFA World Cup committee at the federal level that KC2026 is in daily communication with, but also meeting with some of them.” She is optimistic that positive changes can be made. “I feel like when we were there (in Washington), you could tell everyone’s concerned,” Nelson said. “And those are the people that are making those decisions. And if they’re concerned, and they see us upset and concerned, I do feel optimistic that maybe someone’s ready and prepared to help.”

The clock is ticking: “Yeah, we’re getting down to the wire,” Nelson said. “You know, I think we’ve never done anything like this before. Nor have we ever experienced all of this at the federal and international level. We have a lot of work to do in the next 30 days to welcome those visitors. And maybe there are more visitors from Chicago and Minneapolis and Arkansas and Oklahoma than there are now from Argentina and Germany. We don’t know yet. But as we start to see where we are, we’re sending our resources out into those areas, those marketing resources to really encourage them. You know, as we showed today, the uplift we’ve already seen from Ecuador, Argentina. I mean those countries are tracking ahead of where we expected, Now, that’s not a half million people from Argentina, but we certainly have seen those numbers go up.”

Regional and local fans have an opportunity: “We’re such a great drive-market,” Nelson said. “And I think if you weren’t sure about coming to the World Cup before, because you might feel like, ‘Oh, my gosh, it’s going to be overtaken,’ now is your time to jump in and buy a ticket and check out a fan festival — whether it’s out FIFA Fan Festival or going to one of the other communities that you may not have gone (to) and experience a hamburger and some live music. I just think now is our time to not only welcome people, but for us to enjoy what’s happening in our city.”

No reason to panic: “People are coming to our city to experience the biggest sports event in the world,” Nelson said. “There may be a little bit fewer people. That’s still hundreds of thousands of people. This will be the biggest event ever in our city. So, no matter what, it’s time to embrace what’s about to happen. I have been to the World Cup in Doha (Qatar in 2022). I have been to the Euros (2024 UEFA European Championship) in Germany. People show up. Yeah, there’s a little thing with politics that I cannot control. But what we can control is how we show up and how we welcome and how we support this. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. We didn’t work 10 years for this to be a flop. . .People are going to want to be here. And it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to welcome them.”

Uniquely KC

Hotel designed to evoke B-2 stealth bomber coming to KCI airport. See the details

Get unlimited digital access

#ReadLocal