President Donald Trump will meet Wednesday with executives from some of the nation’s largest travel and hospitality companies as the industry seeks to capitalize on a World Cup-driven summer surge while reversing last year’s decline in foreign visitors.
Executives from American Airlines, Marriott, MGM Resorts and Carnival are among those expected to attend the White House meeting, according to a White House official. The companies represent major segments of the U.S. travel economy, including airlines, hotels, casino resorts and cruise lines.
The meeting comes after the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada, brought millions of spectators to North America and helped boost travel spending in U.S. host cities. U.S. travel spending climbed 6.2 percent from a year earlier in June to $122.1 billion, the highest monthly total in a year.
International visitors spent more than $21 billion in the United States during June, up 2.3 percent from June 2025, according to National Travel and Tourism Office data. World Cup destinations in the New York-New Jersey region, Texas and California were among the areas reporting strong gains during the tournament.
The summer improvement followed a difficult 2025 for international tourism. Foreign arrivals fell 5.5 percent to 68.3 million last year, according to the International Trade Administration, marking the first annual decline since the COVID-19 pandemic. Overseas arrivals excluding Canada and Mexico fell 2.5 percent.
The decline was particularly steep among Canadian travelers, while Mexico overtook Canada as the largest source of foreign visitors to the United States.
Travel industry officials have pointed to lengthy visa interview waits, immigration and travel restrictions and broader concerns about U.S. entry policies as obstacles to attracting more foreign visitors. Industry groups have urged the federal government to speed visa processing and provide clearer entry rules as the United States competes for a larger share of global tourism spending.
Wednesday’s meeting is expected to focus on maintaining the World Cup momentum and addressing obstacles facing international travel. The industry is also monitoring airline capacity, visa backlogs and the effects of trade policies on leisure and business travel.
The White House had not released a detailed agenda for the meeting.
