Seattle’s tourism industry “continues to have high hopes for what this summer’s FIFA World Cup matches could do for the city,” but because the tournament will “take place against a backdrop of global unrest, once-rosy economic projections have drooped,” according to Ulu-Lani Boyanton & Kroman of the SEATTLE TIMES. The city’s boosters and economic forecasters “slashed their earlier World Cup predictions by almost 10%.” Visit Seattle “first anticipated that the World Cup would result in more than” $100M in direct state and local tax revenue, and the tournament would support almost 21,000 jobs. The forecast includes “anticipated visitor spending at hotels, restaurants, shops and more, on top of tax revenue.” The expected number of foreign soccer fans has “declined in large part because of actions taken by President Donald Trump.” This includes Trump’s “ramped-up immigration enforcement and threats to take over Canada and Greenland.” Most recently, Trump launched a war against Iran. Visit Seattle “now anticipates the event could bring in up to” $846M, puts state and local tax revenue at about $96M and “estimates job support at close to 20,000.” It pinpoints direct business sales at $593M. The organization “expects tourists from across the U.S. to make up for the loss of foreign travelers” (SEATTLE TIMES, 4/12).
HOUSING RENTALS: Ulu-Lani Boyanton in a separate piece noted Airbnb “launched a host earnings calculator Wednesday to provide individualized projections for residents of World Cup host cities who opt to rent their accommodations to soccer fans.” Seattle neighborhoods that are “seeing the largest jumps in Airbnb reservations during the matches are Northgate, Greenwood and Phinney Ridge” (SEATTLE TIMES, 4/10). In Newark, Steve Strunsky wrote prompted by World Cup-fueled demand for lodging, Hoboken officials said that they are “finally planning to impose regulations and possibly a tax on Airbnb-style short-term rentals.” Hoboken City Councilman Joe Quintero said that he “plans to introduce a short-term lease ordinance at the council’s April 22 meeting.” The absence of regulation allows almost anyone with room to “vacate their living space temporarily while renting it out, to sign up with a platform and cash in.” This broad-based economic opportunity -- along with opposition from Airbnb and other short-term rental apps -- has “made some municipalities reluctant to regulate the practice.” But Hoboken officials said that the spike in demand generated by soccer’s quadrennial global championship this June at MetLife Stadium “triggered discussions in January on how to minimize the potential downsides of short-term rentals” (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 4/12).
POLITICAL CHALLENGES: POLITICO’s Sophia Cai wrote FIFA President Gianni Infantino is “attempting to navigate between a country that doesn’t want to play on United States soil and a co-host that says he ‘doesn’t care’ if the team does.” The standoff represents the “biggest geopolitical challenge yet for Infantino,” who has worked “industriously to cultivate a close relationship with U.S. leadership at the potential expense of his support from FIFA’s 210 other member nations.” Sources said that some within FIFA, including Secretary General Mattias Grafström, “already found Infantino’s strategy to personally woo Trump excessive.” Now Infantino’s “hard-earned ties to Trump are clashing with some of his organization’s core principles.” Seeing a team that qualified on sporting merit not play in the tournament because of political tensions would be a “severe blow to FIFA’s credibility -- and to its leader personally” (POLITICO, 4/12).
