During the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Mexico will face the greatest tourism and logistics challenge in its recent history. With millions of visitors expected in Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey, the country will have the opportunity – and the pressure – to demonstrate how far it has come in terms of modernization, professionalization and reception capacity.
For the Master. Jesús Aragón, Postgraduate Director of the IPN Higher School of Tourism, the World Cup comes at a crucial moment. “2026 will be an evaluation point. It will allow us to see how beneficial the technological and structural advances have been to join the major leagues of world tourism,” he explains.
A redefined infrastructure with MSMEs and temporary accommodation as the backbone
The Mexican tourist ecosystem has changed radically since the first World Cup that was held in Mexico in 1970. At that time, an incipient and poorly developed hotel infrastructure was sufficient for the time, but today the needs and forms of consumption have radically transformed.
“The structure of tourism no longer rests only on large hotels. Today, MSMEs and temporary accommodations are a fundamental part of the operation: they complement, expand and modernize the country’s real capacity to receive visitors in an event of this magnitude,” explains Aragón.
According to a Deloitte study for Airbnb, Mexican hosts could generate more than $25 million in income during the 39 days of the tournament, while tourists hosted via the platform would contribute $169 million in economic benefits and support more than 21,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
A critical fact: the use of digital platforms can increase the turnover of MSMEs by up to 44%, an effect that is reflected in more hiring of goods, services and local employment. Furthermore, 53% of these MSMEs are led by women, who report billing increases of 11% or more.
For Aragón, this phenomenon is structural. “The emergence of MSMEs in formal and informal accommodation has changed the rules of the game. They allow more people to quickly join productive activity and receive direct economic benefits.”
A World Cup that can not only fill hotels
Decentralized tourism will be one of the most important pillars. Today, seven out of every ten Airbnb reservations in Mexico come from national travelers, and 70% of hosts have another main occupation, which shows that this model activates family and neighborhood economies.
This dynamic is strategic for the headquarters, that is, CDMX, Guadalajara and Monterrey, but also for peripheral communities with emerging attractions. “Around these cities there are communities with their own identity and a growing tourist value. Technology allows people to visit them, get to know them and consume them directly,” explains Aragón.
The great challenges: mobility, capacity and aligned public policies
The figures are optimistic, but they also reveal an imminent challenge: urban and tourist infrastructure will have to operate at the limit. Among the critical points are:
- Urban mobility in areas of stadiums and tourist corridors.
- Public services in response to demand peaks (water, energy, transportation).
- Security and management of the massive flow of visitors.
- Regulation and balanced coexistence between traditional hotels and platforms.
- Accelerated professionalization of hosts and service providers.
For the academic, the key to success for Mexican tourism will be for governments to use this moment to define evidence-based policies:
“We are seeing meetings between academia, the productive sector and the government on issues such as innovation and sustainability. This must be translated into real public policies, not just temporary ones.”
According to Deloitte, 65% of international visitors who come to the World Cup would return to Mexico in the following years, which could generate an additional 239 million dollars and 8,800 new jobs, so the relevance of this event is not just a peak in demand, but a turning point.
The Mexican objective must go beyond the Soccer World Cup, and move towards consolidating its position among the main tourist destinations in the world. “Mexico has advanced in global rankings thanks to the dynamism of its tourism ecosystem. The World Cup will tell us if we are ready to compete in the big leagues on a sustained basis,” concluded Jesús Aragón.
