{"id":614151,"date":"2026-04-19T09:21:11","date_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/614151\/"},"modified":"2026-04-19T09:21:11","modified_gmt":"2026-04-19T09:21:11","slug":"we-need-this-toronto-businesses-hoping-fifas-tourism-draw-will-provide-relief-after-a-hard-winter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/614151\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We need this’: Toronto businesses hoping FIFA\u2019s tourism draw will provide relief after a hard winter"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Listen to this article<\/p>\n

Estimated 4 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

After a tough winter for business, some Toronto entrepreneurs are counting on tourists visiting for the FIFA World Cup to bring in some much-needed traffic.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In June and July, Toronto is set to host six World Cup games as well as the Canadian opening ceremony. The event is expected to bring in over 300,000 visitors, the city has said previously<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Long-time soccer fan and director of Augusta Coffee Bar in Kensington Market, Antoine Vautherot, says the business is preparing to get a lot more traffic this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are very much looking forward to it, the patio is going to be bumping,\u201d he said, adding the hubbub will be a welcome change after what he said was the \u201chardest\u201d winter he\u2019s seen in about ten years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This year the GTA saw a record-breaking winter<\/a>, with below-average temperatures and it being the snowiest winter in recorded history, according to Pearson Airport.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Weather was a challenge for other businesses in the area, too. Paul Salsman, owner of Kensington Market shop Bungalow, said this was \u201cbrutal\u201d for business.<\/p>\n

\u201cKensington market is an outdoor market,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople come to hang out outside and shop and make a day of it, so it’s really difficult to have snow constantly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Salsman said he\u2019s looking forward to the soccer tournament \u2014 in particular, the mass of tourists who will come with it. For Salsman, it marks the light at the end of a very snowy tunnel. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s been a cold, dark winter,\u201d He told CBC Toronto. \u201cWe’ll be happy to see new people and some new customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Businesses making FIFA specials, planning for busy summer<\/p>\n

Being a host city is a win for Toronto\u2019s tourism industry, according to Kelly Jackson, spokesperson for Destination Toronto. She said the agency is expecting out-of-towners to make up over half of ticket sales for the games, at the over-45,000-capacity stadium, with more coming for the official Fan-Fest.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cIt is such an exciting opportunity and you can already feel the city buzzing,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

WATCH | Toronto soccer fans excited for FIFA World Cup 2026 as city hosts friendly matches:\"\"<\/p>\n

Toronto feeling the ‘World Cup fever’ as Canada host friendlies in the city<\/p>\n

Excitement for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Toronto is growing as BMO Field hosts two friendly matches this weekend. Canada’s national men’s soccer team is first up, facing off against Iceland Saturday afternoon. CBC’s Naama Weingarten has more on how people in the city are preparing to celebrate the World Cup’s arrival in June.<\/p>\n

A 2024 FIFA economic assessment<\/a> predicted the event could bring in about $940 million to the GTA in positive economic output, as well as a $700 million bump for Ontario\u2019s GDP.<\/p>\n

Local businesses in the hospitality, retail and food sectors could benefit from visitor spending because of the increased foot traffic in the city, Sharon Bollenbach, executive director of the city\u2019s Word Cup hosting task-force, said in a statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“Business owners can expect higher visitor volumes, especially on match days, and should plan for increased demand, staffing needs and adjusted hours of operation,” Bollenbach said in the statement.<\/p>\n

Additionally, some business owners are planning to cater to the crowds. Ozgur Sekar, owner of Ozzy\u2019s Burgers, said he\u2019s going to create a new burger specially made for the tournament, called the FIFA burger.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need this. We need more tourists, more people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At Augusta Coffee Bar, Vautherot said he\u2019s considering making a feature drink or having a bakery special. He\u2019s also planning to host some watch parties.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe’re definitely planning on having some events around the games,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

He said he sees the games as an opportunity for people to \u201cbe together with friends and just have some fun watching the games together.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 4 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":614152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,3302],"class_list":["post-614151","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-toronto"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=614151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/614151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/614152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=614151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=614151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=614151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}