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Travel Bookings to Miami Surge as Messi Plays in Copa America Final

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Travel Bookings to Miami Surge as Messi Plays in Copa America Final

Skift Take

Argentines are going to be out in droves to see their team play for the championship. It’ll be a boost for international tourism to the U.S.

Dawit Habtemariam

Tourists are flocking to see Argentina play Colombia in the Copa America 2024 final match at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium this Sunday. 

Copa America features 16 teams representing nations across the Western Hemisphere. The tournament included 32 matches played in New York City, Atlanta and 14 other U.S. cities.

Argentinians are especially keen to see their national team play. Flight bookings from Argentina are up 43% for the July 12-14 weekend from last year, according to ForwardKeys, a travel data analytics firm. Flight bookings for Chile, Columbia, Canada and the other nations competing in the tournament are up 10% from last year.

“For the final game in Miami, we will have around 300 passengers. It’s very busy right now,” said Oswaldo Freitas, CEO of tour operator Easy Time Travel, which organized group trips from Latina America for the tournament.

Copa America 2024’s Pull on International Travel

While the final game is expected to be busy, other games have not done as well. Stadiums have been half empty for some of the games. The U.S. vs. Bolivia game at Dallas’ AT&T Stadium had fewer than 48,000 fans — capacity is 80,000, reported Reuters.

“Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia and Brazil are the teams that really take the attention of the consumer,” said Freitas.

International arrivals from the nations to the U.S are up 11% from last year, according to ForwardKeys. In contrast, when the tournament was held in Brazil in 2019, arrivals rose 61% from countries competing in the tournament.  

“The increase is relatively mild, especially when compared to previous tournaments, which typically show much stronger demand,” said Oliver Ponti.

The Average Soccer Fan Was Priced Out

One reason for the game’s relatively weaker international attendance is that Copa America’s tickets have been too expensive.

The average price to attend the tournament was $283, up from $143 in 2016 — the last year the U.S. hosted the event, reported Axios. Tickets to the final are over $1,600, according to the Miami Herald.

Copa America is not as accessible to the public as it used to be. Multinational corporations are buying out tickets and awarding them to their high-performing employees, said Freitas. 

“The price for the tickets are not for the regular fan. The groups in Miami right now are corporate,” he said.

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