SEATTLE - With less than a month to go until Argentina and Canada kick things off at the Copa América 2024, fans wanting to travel to the United States for a first-hand experience might need to hurry before hotels and other short- and long-term homestays are completely booked.
Sixteen teams from all over the Americas will meet in the U.S. for a month-long competition held in 14 different cities. From the Pacific coast all the way to the northeast, large number of fans are expected to make the trip to North America for the second-ever Copa América held on U.S. soil.
According to hospitality company Airbnb, short and long-term stays near the Copa América host cities have seen an increase of 40% in terms of traffic compared to the same dates in 2023. The countries with the most people looking for a place to stay are Argentina, Colombia and Mexico with Brazil and Canada rounding up the top five.
Such has been the demand for a place to stay that the company created a special website for Copa América 2024. There, Airbnb offers fans a vast selection of places where they can stay, as well as guest favorites, depending on which match they plan to attend. To make things easier, they also added a schedule with information such as when and where your favorite team is supposed to play.
The cities with the biggest increase in terms of traffic compared to last year have been Atlanta and the Fort Worth area. The capital city of the state of Georgia will host the opening match of the tournament between Argentina and Canada as well as a United States game against Panama. With three big-name teams, Atlanta has seen an increase of 350% in terms of pageviews.
Out of the 16 participating countries, the ones with the most reservations made so far, according to Airbnb numbers, are Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and Colombia.
The official site of Copa América 2024 also offered bundles for fans willing to make the trip to the United States for the month-long competition. Packages that included group stage matches, knockout games and a personalized "follow your team" bundles are all sold out.
Just like eight years ago, Copa América 2024 is expected to set attendance and revenue records for organizers.
When the United States hosted Copa América Centenario in 2016, the tournament attracted close to 1.5 million fans to its 32 matches across 10 venues. The average of 46,000 fans per game made it the most attended Copa América edition in history, as well as the second highest-attended soccer tournament in the U.S., behind the 1994 World Cup.
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