The World Cup Tourism Boom Was a Myth

The 2026 World Cup's promised tourism windfall didn't materialize as international visitors stayed home, United tried to merge with both Delta and American and got turned down by both, and Europe fined Google for something the entire travel industry does to its own suppliers every day. On today's Skift Daily Briefing, Sarah Dandashy breaks down what the World Cup's underwhelming tourism numbers mean for Los Angeles heading into the 2028 Olympics, why airline consolidation has largely stalled despite all the deal talk earlier this year, and why the Google antitrust fine is a mirror the whole travel industry should probably look into. Articles Referenced: Honorable Mention: @AskAConcierge on IGWhat the World Cup Could Have BeenUnited Chased Delta and American. Now Airline M&A Has Stalled.Everyone in Travel Wants a Fair Ranking — Until They Own One Connect with Skift LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/skift/ WhatsApp: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAL375LikgIXmNPYQ0L/ Facebook: https://facebook.com/skiftnews Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/skiftnews/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@skiftnews Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/skiftnews.bsky.social X: https://twitter.com/skift Subscribe to @SkiftNews and never miss an update from the travel industry.