Restaurants and bars in Vancouver are seeing record revenue thanks to Canada’s national team matches, but hotels and shops on Granville Island are facing a drop in demand due to high prices and the way fans are spread across the region. Provincial authorities, despite an uneven impact, are forecasting a long-term tourism boom and are already building mini-fields as a legacy of the tournament.
Vancouver’s World Cup promises an economic boom—but delivers uneven results
British Columbia is actively marketing the economic benefits of hosting FIFA World Cup matches in Vancouver, but the reality for local businesses has turned out to be mixed. On one hand, the province’s minister of tourism, Ann Kang, says visitors are flocking to bars and restaurants—especially on match days—and some businesses report revenue up to 40 percent. Ian Tostenson, president of the British Columbia Restaurant and Foodservices Association, confirms that restaurants in the Granville Street area and in fan zones are seeing a doubling of sales, while the festive atmosphere lifts spirits and draws people in. Still, behind the overall positivity there’s a clear unevenness: establishments on the periphery, according to Tostenson, have to work harder—introducing special menus and promotions—to attract guests.
A very different picture is playing out on Granville Island, where, despite an organized fan zone and thousands of spectators, local entrepreneurs say sales have fallen sharply. HILARY Morris, an artist who owns Beaver Pond Creative, describes the past few weeks as “incredibly quiet” and is baffled that regular customers seem to be avoiding the island because of the crowds. Lisa Simpson, owner of Liberty Distillery, says fans aren’t sticking around after games and aren’t spending money at nearby shops. Even more worrying signals are coming from the hotel sector. Despite pre-tournament warnings about a shortage of rooms, hotels have faced low demand. Ryan Sharett, general manager of the hostel network Hostelling International, says occupancy has dropped from the usual 90–92 percent to roughly half, and blames it on off-puttingly high prices for budget travelers. Beck Shamsiev, general manager of the luxury hotel AZUR Legacy Collection, adds that her hotel is down 20–25 percent from its usual June occupancy, attributing this to a dilution of the tourist flow because the tournament is being held across three countries and 16 cities—adding in her CBC interview that the business is “being spread out.”
In response to the criticism, provincial officials acknowledge that fan behavior has turned out to be different: many are staying with friends and family, in caravans or campgrounds. Minister Kang insists the government isn’t overestimating the economic impact and is viewing the tournament as part of a long-term tourism strategy. Her forecast is that over the next five years after the event, British Columbia will receive an additional one million tourists and more than one billion dollars in spending. That mixed picture—on one hand a visible surge in some sectors and a slump in others—raises questions about the real cost of being a host city. Hotels that had prepared for hundreds of thousands of visitors are sitting empty, while shops in popular tourist locations are losing their usual customers. Perhaps the key problem lies in the gap between expectations (and the corresponding pricing) and the actual profile of visitors, who have turned out to be more budget-conscious or more broadly distributed across the region.
Canada’s World Cup success extended Vancouver’s restaurant boom
Canada’s successful World Cup run has been a real boost for owners of bars, pubs, and restaurants in Vancouver. According to Ian Tostenson, head of the British Columbia Restaurant and Foodservices Association, every match featuring Canada’s team brings a sharp rise in both visitors and revenue. Tostenson compared the effect to a car speeding down a highway—and when Canada plays, the speed becomes “super-sonic.” The team’s historic breakthrough into the playoffs, where it beat South Africa 1-0 in Los Angeles and now will face Morocco in Houston, extends the frenzy by at least six additional days. Businesses are already preparing for Saturday’s match: many venues will open by 9 a.m. to be ready for the 10 a.m. broadcast kickoff. As Tostenson noted in his Castanet interview, Saturday’s game could become the “culmination” of the tournament for local businesses.
Jane Talbot, CEO of the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, describes the atmosphere downtown as “incredibly positive.” In her view, on Canada match days—whether the team is playing at home or away—there’s “electricity” in the city centre. The increase is especially noticeable in the pedestrian area on Granville Street, where bars, pubs, restaurants, and clubs are concentrated. Talbot says some venues are seeing record sales, though the success isn’t the same everywhere. Still, even those that haven’t broken records benefit from the sudden jump in foot traffic: if someone visits a shop or venue once and likes it, there’s a strong chance they’ll come back again.
As the tournament moves into the knockout rounds—when there are fewer matches—it will inevitably lead to some slowdown compared with the first two weeks. Even so, Talbot is confident Vancouver will remain “fun, lively, and exciting” until the very end of the championship. For readers unfamiliar with the terminology: the “round of 16” is the first stage of the playoffs, where the 16 best teams after the group stage compete, and winning a match means advancing to the quarterfinals. For Canada, reaching that stage is already a historic achievement, and every additional match brings the city not only sports pride, but also real economic benefits.
2026 World Cup in Vancouver: halfway there—and clear benefits already for British Columbia
The first phase of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Vancouver has ended, and it’s already possible to point to significant successes for both the city and the wider province of British Columbia. Matches held at BC Place drew full stands, while outside the arena there was genuine football euphoria. As reported in a BC government release, the tournament didn’t just bring people together—it also generated tangible economic benefits for local businesses, from restaurants to tattoo studios. The biggest moment for Canadian fans was Canada’s historic 6-0 victory over Qatar, watched by 11.7 million viewers across the country—a record for the group stage of the World Cup in Canada. Now Vancouver is preparing to host two more playoff matches, and expectations continue to rise.
British Columbia’s minister of tourism, arts, culture and sport, Ann Kang, said the unity of people who came to support Canada was inspiring, and emphasized that British Columbia is showing the world how multiculturalism and hospitality can thrive regardless of which team spectators support. Five group matches in Vancouver, along with numerous fan zones—including the FIFA Fan Festival, which drew more than 330,000 people from June 11 to 28—provided a meeting place for people from around the world. The crowds were especially large for Canada’s matches against Switzerland and South Africa—the latter, won 1-0, sent the team into the round of 16. Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said the city embraced the tournament with incredible energy, and highlighted the importance of the Granville Street pedestrian zone, which has become a hub of celebration.
The economic impact on businesses has been impressive. Restaurant and bar owners such as William Donnellan of Donnellan’s Irish Pub say sales exceeded expectations by more than 50%, and in some days revenue was higher than on St. Patrick’s Day or during Super Bowl season. Sportswear stores are selling Canada jerseys, and sales of large televisions in June rose by 33% compared with last year. Even tattoo studios noticed an influx of clients looking to get a maple leaf as a symbol of Canadian pride. The transport system is also running near capacity: on June 24, TransLink recorded a record ridership of 1.4 million people, while Vancouver International Airport served nearly 1.8 million passengers, with an average of more than 85,000 per day.
The provincial government is already thinking about the tournament’s legacy. The Mini Peaks Legacy program, delivered in partnership with viaSport and Vancouver Whitecaps, calls for up to 20 modern mini-fields to be built across communities throughout the province, so children can play year-round. In addition, through the BC Place Community Benefits Program, 500 free tickets were provided to children and youth from low-income families. Ravi Kahlon, the minister of jobs and economic growth, said initiatives like B.C. Business House have already attracted nearly 900 participants from different countries, including delegations from Australia, Brazil, Italy, and South Korea—showing global interest in British Columbia as a place for investment and partnership. Over the five years following the tournament, the province is expected to gain about one million additional tourists and more than one billion dollars in additional spending.
Watch parties and events weren’t only held in Vancouver, but also in cities such as Victoria, Kamloops, Terrace, and Nelson, where locals came together to support Canada’s team. In Vancouver, Sunset Beach Football Club is helping drive growth in street soccer by bringing together players from different countries and cultures. All of this underscores that the 2026 World Cup has already become an event that belongs to every resident of the province—and will be remembered for a long time. Two more matches are still ahead in Vancouver—on July 2 and July 7—and organizers are confident that the economic and social impact will only build, leaving behind not just infrastructure, but also a sense of unity.
