LOS ANGELES — The 2026 Americas Lodging Investment Summit opened right here on Monday with business leaders acknowledging the U.S. has fallen behind different tourism locations.
Ahead of a panel dialogue, U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Freeman introduced a sobering evaluation of final yr’s efficiency, reporting that home journey was “basically flat” when accounting for inflation. International inbound journey carried out even worse.
“We were down more than 5% last year on international inbound travel,” stated Freeman. “The United States last year was the only major nation in the world to see a decline in travel.”
He attributed a lot of that decline to a 25% drop in Canadian guests final yr. Expedia Group CEO Ariane Gorin known as the decline “concerning.”
“As a global travel company, we will then help Canadians either travel domestically or elsewhere, but I’m concerned [when it comes to] filling up rooms in the U.S.,” she stated.
The world disparity is important, in response to information introduced by Phocuswright senior vp of content material Mitra Sorrells. While India and Latin America are every anticipated to see 10% compounded annual development in gross journey bookings from 2025 to 2028, and the Middle East is forecast to develop 8%, the U.S. is predicted to develop simply 4%.
“The fastest growth is happening outside the U.S.,” stated Sorrells.
During a later panel, IHG Hotels & Resorts CEO Elie Maalouf attributed the U.S. market’s underperformance to what he described as “extraneous burden,” citing points associated to tariff turmoil, authorities spending cutbacks, decreased inbound journey and the federal government shutdown.
“I think the U.S. probably would have been closer to the rest of the world but for some of the ceiling that got put on it, which I think is artificial,” Maalouf stated.
Freeman highlighted a number of main demand drivers for the U.S. this yr, together with festivities surrounding America’s 250th anniversary and the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Matches will likely be performed in 11 U.S. locations. Freeman warned, nonetheless, that coverage obstacles might undermine the World Cup’s optimistic influence.
“The question is, are we going to pursue policies that would discourage travel?” he requested, pointing to examples like new visa charges, a $100 cost for international guests to nationwide parks and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection proposal requiring worldwide vacationers to offer social media data.
Marriott International CEO Anthony Capuano has these issues additionally.
“We’ve got to make the world feel welcome coming to the U.S.,” stated Capuano. “When you have visitors asking legitimate questions about what their experience will be coming through customs and immigration … those are big impediments to optimizing what should be a home run opportunity for the lodging industry.”
World Cup pivotal to RevPAR development
Also on Monday, STR vp of analytics Isaac Collazo introduced STR’s 2026 U.S. lodge efficiency forecast, projecting income per accessible room (RevPAR) development of simply 0.6%. Average every day price (ADR) is predicted to extend 1%, however stay under the anticipated 2.4% inflation price, placing continued strain on lodge margins.
“We still believe it’s going to be a better year than 2025, but not a stellar year,” he stated, including that the forecast closely will depend on World Cup host markets delivering sturdy performances. Without the World Cup, STR would mission 2026 RevPAR to lower.
On Monday, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter backed a proposed fan boycott of World Cup matches within the U.S. due to the conduct of President Donald Trump and his administration at residence and overseas, the Associated Press reported.
Kalibri Labs CEO Cindy Estis Green introduced a forecast vary given the uncertainty, forecasting a RevPAR efficiency someplace between a 1.5% decline and 1% development.