TORONTO, June 19, 2026 – One week after World Cup matches began in Toronto, the Greater Toronto Hotel Association said the city’s hotel occupancy rate for June is expected to be about 65 per cent, below the level recorded during the same period last year. At the same time, some downtown restaurants, patios and sports bars have reported lineups and increased customer traffic. Residents planning to travel downtown for matches, dining or work, along with small businesses and delivery workers that depend on visitor spending, should prepare for reservations, transportation and delivery changes. So far, the increase in spending and pedestrian traffic appears to be concentrated mainly around match venues and fan activity areas.
Toronto is hosting five group-stage matches and one knockout match between June 12 and July 2. After the first matches took place, fans from different countries and regions began arriving downtown, increasing pedestrian traffic around Union Station, Front Street, the stadium and fan event areas. Some restaurants were already seeing lineups several hours before kickoff.
For families planning to dine or watch matches downtown, increased crowds do not necessarily mean every business will extend its hours or keep seats available for walk-in customers. Popular venues may require reservations, and wait times may become longer before and after matches. Families travelling with children or seniors should confirm whether restaurants accept reservations, whether food can be brought into event sites, and when return transit service will operate.
Hotel demand has not shown the same level of growth. The Greater Toronto Hotel Association said June bookings have been uneven, and some conference travellers and regular visitors who would normally come to Toronto during this period may have avoided travelling during the World Cup. As the tournament approached, some previously reserved rooms were released back into the market, adding pressure on hotels to fill short-term inventory.
The impact on small businesses has also varied. A pre-tournament survey by the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found that 72 per cent of surveyed small businesses in Toronto and Vancouver expected the World Cup to have no effect on revenue. Nine per cent expected revenue to increase, while 11 per cent believed it could decline. Restaurants and bars near the stadium may reach capacity for short periods before and after matches, but neighbourhood businesses farther from event areas may not receive the same increase in customers.
Road closures and transit changes may also affect regular commuters, food delivery workers and freight drivers. Businesses that do not adjust delivery schedules in advance may face delayed shipments of food or other goods. Residents working downtown may also experience longer commutes because of road restrictions and larger crowds. People heading to matches or fan events should not rely only on their regular routes and should check public transit and temporary road closure information before leaving.
Bank of Montreal previously forecast that the World Cup could generate between $1.5 billion and $6.5 billion in additional economic activity in Canada during the second and third quarters, and could raise annualized quarterly gross domestic product growth by about 0.1 percentage points. The increase is expected to come mainly from international visitor spending on accommodation, food, transportation and entertainment. However, this remains a forecast, and additional match-related spending by local residents may simply be money shifted from other everyday expenses.
Retail sales data released by Statistics Canada on June 19 only covered the period through April and therefore did not include World Cup-related spending. At this stage, it is only possible to confirm that some downtown restaurants and match-viewing venues have experienced short-term customer growth. It is still too early to determine whether Toronto’s overall economy has expanded because of the tournament.
Residents planning to enter downtown on match days should confirm restaurant reservations, event site rules, public transit and return travel times in advance. Businesses and delivery workers should review road closure areas and delivery windows, and keep records of orders, staffing and additional costs to assess whether tournament crowds are actually turning into higher revenue.（LJI by Yuanyuan）
