Washington – The American plane travel system is insufficiently equipped for the millions of visitors expected for the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the 2028 summer Olympic Games, according to a report published Wednesday by a non -profit group representing the travel industry.
The US Travel Association report, which was written by a group of former government representatives and industry experts, stressed aging infrastructure, treatment times for slow visas and obsolete security technology The main obstacles to welcome visitors to the country.
“We are not ready to welcome the next mega decade of events that will attract millions of national and international travelers.
The report estimated that 40 million people could visit the United States for the World Cup, the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games, the Ryder Cup 2025 and the 250th American anniversary, including 6 million for the World Cup.
The CEO and president of the US Travel, Geoff Freeman, said that in 2024, the TSA had projected more than 3 million passengers in five days, including the pre-Thanksgiving rush. By 2028, they expect to see such figures over 100 days.
“The message today is clear,” he said on Wednesday at a press conference on Capitol Hill. “The status quo is not an option.”
The report has recommended that the government establish a working group led by the White House, to create an accelerated visitor visa process and to modernize the safety of the airport by adopting new technologies such as biometrics. Freeman told ESPN that his organization had met white house officials last week. Attempts to reach the White House failed.
“The president struck frank to make this the golden stallion of the World Cups, the best Olympic games ever detained,” said Freeman. “To do these things, to achieve these goals, you have to make some of these investments.”
Freeman said that slow visa processing times are “the most important deterrent in visiting the United States”. According to the State Department, waiting times for visitors’ visas in countries like Colombia can last up to 700 days.
These delays, if they are not treated, could cause losses to millions of visitors and nearly $ 19 billion in spending over the next two years, according to an economic study in Oxford quoted in the report.
“People want to come, but they don’t come,” said Freeman. “This comes back to these visa waiting times. This gives the ineffectiveness of customs. This goes to a perception in cases where people are not welcome. We are very worried.”
