World Cup Fans Praise U.S. Food and Hospitality as 1.24 Million Visitors Arrive

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 13

Social media posts from 2026 World Cup visitors have turned American fast food, roadside stops and small-town kindness into viral travel diaries, with fans from Germany, Norway, Britain and Japan praising what they found.
Oxford Economics expects 1.24 million international visitors for the tournament, saying the event will revive inbound travel, fill hotels and spread economic gains well beyond host cities.
A German fan with more than 500,000 followers documented a Southern road trip featuring Waffle House, Buc-ee’s, Walmart and country radio, then said a hotel receptionist drove his group to a stadium in the rain.
Other posts that drew wide attention included a Norwegian boy delighting in an In-N-Out burger and a Japanese tourist apologizing after mocking biscuits and gravy before calling it magnificent.
With matches spread across 11 U.S. host markets, the tournament is exposing visitors not just to major cities but to what one observer called the heart of middle America.