The Olympics and World Cup Are Coming — U.S. Tourism Commission Calls For These Fixes

The U.S. risks missing out on billions in tourism revenue unless it modernizes its travel infrastructure, according to a new report.

The Commission on Seamless and Secure Travel, run by the U.S. Travel Association, called on Wednesday for a White House-led task force to oversee a sweeping overhaul of the nation's aviation security, visa processing, and customs procedures.

The commission's recommendations could unlock $95 billion in additional spending by visitors to the U.S. over the next four years as the country hosts major sporting events, such as the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympics.

Key Recommendations

The commission's recommendations included:

• Establishing a senior White House position to coordinate travel policy across federal agencies

• Creating a national vetting service to process visa applications within 30 days, reducing wait times that currently stretch hundreds of days in some countries.

• Implementing fully automated identity verification and biometric systems at customs within two years

Spending Questions

Kevin McAleenan, commission chair and former Acting Homeland Security Secretary, said at a Senate briefing that the commission's recommended technologies include biometric facial comparison at airport checkpoints.

McAleenan, who previously worked on creating the Global Entry Program across government agencies, argued that new technology and workflows could boost border security by providing significantly more accurate and automated identification than today's paper-and-card-based processes.

Yet questions remained about funding for the proposed infrastructure upgrades amid broader spending debates in the Trump Administration.

"The visa issue is the single biggest deterrent to visiting the U.S.," said Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association, referring to extended wait times for visa processing at U.S. offices abroad.

"Those are problems the government made and that the government needs to resolve," Freeman said. "The service would be self-funded based on the fees visitors pay for visa processing."

Hosting Major Sports Events

The travel industry is focused on preparing for what some have called a "mega decade" of events, including the 2026 World Cup (across 11 U.S. cities), the Ryder Cup, the ICC Cricket World Cup, and the 2028 Olympics.

The sports events will pressure the country's infrastructure. TSA expects to screen more than 3 million passengers a day on 50 days this year. By 2028, it expects to screen that many on 100 days.

Separately, the U.S. has been missing out on potential travel spending from international visitors, the report said. The country's share of global travelers has fallen by more than 40% since 2000. If the U.S. regained the share it had in 2015, it could produce $478 billion in extra spending at its businesses.

A case in point: The U.S. had 10 million fewer visitors last year than pre-pandemic. That represented a potential economic loss, as the average spending of international visitors last year was about $5,000 per person per visit, according to government estimates.

While tourism to the U.S. is slumping, many other major countries are exceeding their inbound tourism from before the pandemic.

"It's also worth noting that pre-pandemic, Americans spent $10 billion less overseas than foreign travelers spent here," Freeman said. "Today we have a $40 billion travel trade deficit, which is a swing of $50 billion in terms of what Americans are spending elsewhere versus what foreign travelers are spending here."