St. Joseph in early planning stages for the FIFA World Cup

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. (News-Press NOW) -- In less than a year, 650,000 people are expected to travel into the Kansas City area to watch countries around the world compete in the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

St. Joseph, sitting just 55 miles away from downtown Kansas City, is expected to see an influx of visitors and is beginning to prepare.

"We are purely in an idea phase of what are the things we should be doing, what are other destinations doing that are similar to us," director of communications/ marketing with St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau, Christian Mengel, said. "A lot of conversations surrounding watch parties, festivals and viewing areas and more are being discussed to figure out what would be the best experience for current residents."

Mengel said conferences and conventions geared toward international tourism marketing, as well as conversations with international travel writers, have shared consistent feedback.

International travelers are looking for three things. They will want to travel somewhere with something uniquely American, has a hidden gem or a place with road trip possibilities.

"St. Joseph is perfect in that sense," Mengel said. " In that, in the Kansas City region, we check all those boxes."

St. Joseph is currently being advertised in Kansas City International Airport as well as on buses driving around the city. Ad sizes in Visit Kansas City's visitor guides have grown for St. Joseph as well to draw more eyes from out of country visitors.

"If we target Kansas City at that time, specifically as, 'Hey, this is something to do while you're in Kansas City or while you're in the area for the World Cup,'" Mengel said. "It makes it so much more accessible for them to find out that it's just a 45-minute trip up the road."

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