The United States has recently experienced both the extraordinary power of travel and some uncomfortable reminders of its vulnerabilities.
The lessons are acute in Florida.
The 2026 FIFA World Cup brought the world to North America. Miami hosted seven matches and generated a surge of visitors, spending and global attention.
Spirit Airlines, once a Florida-based symbol of affordable access to leisure destinations, quit flying because of financial struggles. Meanwhile, Canadians, among America’s most dependable international visitors, increasingly choose to vacation elsewhere, hitting Florida hard.
Rachel J.C. Fu is chair and professor of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (THEM) at the University of Florida. (courtesy, Rachel J.C. Fu)
These may seem separate and unrelated. They’re not. They tell us something fundamental about the future of tourism: Destinations can no longer assume travelers will come simply because they always have.
Tourism is becoming a global competition for attention, affordability, accessibility and, increasingly, trust.
The World Cup demonstrated what happens when the U.S. gives the world a compelling reason to visit. U.S. travel spending rose 6.2% year over year in June to $122.1 billion, its strongest monthly performance in a year.
Millions watched American destinations around the world while international visitors experienced our hotels, restaurants, attractions and communities firsthand. They got to know us as people and realized the stereotypes were often wrong. They returned home with goodwill — and good stories.
We should ask now many World Cup visitors will return or will recommend America to friends and family. How effectively did we convert a one-time event into a lasting relationship? That’s where tourism leadership begins.
The collapse of Spirit Airlines offers another lesson. An important carrier in Florida, its main hub was at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. For decades, low-cost carriers helped democratize travel, enabling families, students and price-sensitive travelers to visit places that otherwise might have been beyond reach.
When affordable transportation disappears, tourism can suffer. A hotel room may be reasonably priced and an attraction may offer tremendous value, but neither matters if travelers can’t afford to get there.
Tourism decision-makers need to think beyond hotel occupancy and visitor counts. Air connectivity, transportation infrastructure and affordability are integral parts of destination competitiveness.
Then there’s Canada. Canadian travel to the U.S. fell dramatically in 2025 and remained below previous levels in 2026. According to data from Visit Florida, Canadian visitors to the state dropped 14% in the first half of 2026, following a nearly 7% decline in 2025.
Some Canadian travelers have redirected vacations domestically or toward Europe or other international destinations. The economic losses matter, but longer-term behavioral change matters even more.
Travel habits are remarkably powerful. Once a family discovers a new destination, establishes new traditions and builds emotional connections elsewhere, winning that traveler back becomes much harder.
This leads to perhaps the most important lesson for those of us who study and care deeply about tourism: It is an invitation, not an entitlement.
Travelers have more choices than ever. They compare destinations instantly. AI can build personalized itineraries in seconds. Social media can elevate an unknown destination or damage an established one almost overnight.
The winners of the next decade will not simply market harder. They will manage smarter with strategies.
That means using AI and data analytics to anticipate visitor expectations rather than just measuring them afterward. It means developing a workforce capable of combining technology with something it can’t replace: genuine hospitality. It means treating every visitor interaction — from airport arrival to hotel check-in to the Uber ride home — as part of one interconnected destination experience.
Florida offers an especially important laboratory. Our state has built one of the world’s most powerful tourism economies through generations of investment. Even with a decline in Canadian tourists, Florida welcomed a record 143.3 million total visitors in 2025. That is six tourists for every resident.
But Florida, like every major destination, must continually earn the next visit.
The World Cup showed us tourism’s possibilities. Spirit Airlines reminded us that access cannot be taken for granted. Canadian travelers reminded us that loyalty cannot be taken for granted either.
America’s next great tourism chapter will belong to destinations and leaders that combine innovation with hospitality, technology with humanity, and global ambition with a simple, timeless principle: Make people want to come, and give them a reason to return.
Rachel J.C. Fu is chair and professor of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (THEM) at the University of Florida and director of UF’s Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute.