📈 Business Matters with Frank Catalano 04/07/26

Revising expectations for a “two-nation vacation”: A lot can change in three years, especially when it comes to Northwest Washington hopes for World Cup spinoff tourism business. Such as, for example, an unexpected rupture.

In June 2023, I covered one of the first cross-border planning meetings with a focus on FIFA’s signature competition. Organizations and government agencies hosted by the Future Borders Coalition were wrangling with how to smoothly move visitors between game sites in Seattle and Vancouver, British Columbia starting in June 2026.

Many concerns came up: scheduled construction at border crossings, capacity for clearing buses full of fans, and educating international ticket holders about crossing requirements in both directions.

But underpinning the planning was tantalizing potential — that of promoting a “two-nation vacation” to visitors. Businesses in Northwest Washington, tucked midpoint between two host cities, could benefit.

Now, less than three months before the games in the region get underway on June 13, it seemed time to reassess.

I went back to a half-dozen people tied to that initial meeting with three simple questions. What obstacles noted then have been overcome? What unforeseen obstacles have arisen? And, what’s the likelihood today, compared to that point in 2023, of attracting visitors to our region and businesses for a “two-nation vacation”?

Several noted that construction at crossings in Lynden and Sumas has become a non-issue, as “those schedules were pushed out to the following year,” said Hugh Conroy, director of the Whatcom Council of Governments.

Conroy added that border agencies on both sides have taken steps to make it easier to process certain cross-border buses as well, including using a U.S. Customs and Border Protection app to upload travel documents with advance passenger manifests, “which should shorten inspection times.”

Notable, too, was progress on border education efforts. Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University, pointed to the launch of the Know Before You Go website with customized visa and entry guidance which she hoped would be maintained long after the games.

Unforeseen obstacles were a bit more … complicated. While no one I interviewed mentioned Trump by name, it was clear his administration’s handprints were all over this particular football.

“It's hard to underestimate the impact of the rupture in Canada-U.S. relations, and broader geopolitics,” said Trautman. “Those two immensely influential factors simply did not exist three years ago.”

Though FIFA ticket holders have been offered expedited U.S. visa processing, a greater unknown — according to WCOG’s Conroy — is if international soccer fans who don’t have tickets will “be wary of the United States' current posture on immigration enforcement” and its effect on border entry and not come to celebrate with their teams.

Trautman said overall, it feels like the situation has switched from joint problem-solving through innovation to “one of damage control and complete uncertainty.”

Which leads to the three-year-old vision of attracting out-of-towners for a “two-nation vacation.”

Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism (also known as Visit Bellingham Whatcom County) and the Skagit Tourism Bureau did not address obstacles. But both highlighted efforts to guide local businesses and draw game crowds to the region.

“The Bureau has a strategic marketing campaign implemented to showcase Skagit Valley as a base camp, a place for people to escape the soccer frenzy as well as promoting return visits,” said Skagit Tourism Bureau CEO Kristen Keltz.

BWCT, which is holding a World Cup tourism education event for businesses on April 15, noted its promotion of Bellingham’s fan zone celebrations and the potential for what you might call overflow tourism: a predicted shortage of up to 70,000 hotel rooms for Vancouver’s games that could drive ticket holders to seek shelter in Whatcom County.

Yet those who would hazard a guess suggested Northwest Washington businesses temper any earlier, grander worldly expectations.

While individual traveler decisions will vary, “U.S policy trends and optics since 2023 have not been complementary to marketing a two-nation vacation,” said WCOG’s Conroy.

BPRI’s Trautman said it can be an emotional tug-of-war for diehard soccer fans weighing geopolitics and potential border hassles.

“My gut tells me this,” she said. “Sports are a powerful draw, and while I expect there will be a sizable number of visitors who travel to Mexico or Canada for the games and also visit the U.S., those numbers will most certainly be diminished in this environment.”

And Guy Occhiogrosso, president and CEO of the Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, said he doesn’t currently envision a large number of non-resident visitors coming to Northwest Washington. Instead, he advises, businesses should court enthusiastic local fans.

“It is still a world-class event with a lot of attention,” he said. “Just as if the Mariners or the Seahawks in the championship would increase engagement, an international team may bring out those teams' supporters to be engaged.”

Consider that an upside for an alternative scenario that didn’t seem as likely three years ago: the one-nation staycation.

The first World Cup games arrive in Cascadia on June 13 and run through July 7. A number of businesses in Northwest Washington, from bars to ice cream parlors, are scheduling events.

Brick by Brick: How LEGO Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry: CDN newsroom staff know that I have a lot of LEGO sets (including a Bellingham Sloth and miniature Old City Hall). So I was drawn to this very readable 2013 business case study by David C. Robertson about how LEGO avoided bankruptcy and turned itself around at the turn of the century, in part by co-creating with kids and adult fans.

Pearls Get Plastered: Cartoonist (and former attorney) Stephan Pastis’ latest treasury of Pearls Before Swine strips is my current comfort read. The best part may be the comments he adds after nearly every strip in the collection, providing context. Or another bad joke.

April 8: Business Education Session: Turning Strategy into Action, Burlington Chamber, Burlington Chamber office

April 9: Northern Cascades SAF Series: SAF Workspace Development, Northwest Innovation Resource Center, Bellingham Technical College

April 9: Anacortes Chamber Luncheon: State of the City, Anacortes Chamber of Commerce, Anacortes City Hall

April 15: Chamber Speaker Series: State of the City and County, Bellingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, Hotel Bellwether

April 15: Tourism Education Series: World Cup Preparedness, Bellingham Whatcom County Tourism, Bellingham Yacht Club

April 21: Northwest Regional Job Fair, Economic Development Alliance of Skagit County, Worksource Skagit Mount Vernon

April 30: Annual Awards Dinner, Skagit Valley Chamber of Commerce, Swinomish Casino & Lodge