Although the 2026 FIFA World Cup has come to an end, its impact is still being felt beyond football. A new analysis of global Google search trends suggests the tournament sparked a sharp rise in travel interest for several participating nations, particularly countries that are not traditionally viewed as major tourist destinations.
The study analyzed 392 travel-related search terms across all 48 countries that competed in the tournament. It compared worldwide search interest during the World Cup, from June 11 to July 19, with the same number of days immediately before the competition. The tracked terms included searches related to flights, vacations, holidays, cuisine, and the best time to visit each country.
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Among all nations, Cape Verde recorded the biggest surge in travel-related searches. Searches for “Cape Verde vacation” jumped by 4,600% during the tournament, making it the highest increase across all 392 search terms analyzed. Interest in “cheap flights Cape Verde” also soared by 4,200%, the second-largest increase overall.
Czechia ranked next, with searches for “Czechia holiday” rising by 3,100%. Searches for “DR Congo flights” increased by 2,785%, while “cheap flights Haiti” climbed by 2,400%, placing the countries among the biggest gainers in travel-related interest. Ivory Coast also saw significant gains, appearing three times among the top 15 fastest-growing search terms. Searches for “Ivory Coast holiday” rose 2,250%, while “Ivory Coast flights” and “cheap flights Ivory Coast” increased by 1,400% and 1,200%, respectively.
Senegal emerged as the most consistently searched destination in the rankings, appearing four times in the top 15. Searches for “Senegal vacation” climbed by 1,725%, followed by “best time to visit Senegal” at 1,500%, “cheap flights Senegal” at 1,267%, and “Senegal holiday” at 1,024%.
The analysis also tracked searches using both “Cape Verde” and “Cabo Verde” to reflect the different names travelers use for the same destination. “Cabo Verde holiday” ranked ninth overall, posting a 1,522% increase in search interest.
Together, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Cape Verde and Haiti accounted for 11 of the 15 biggest increases in travel-related searches recorded during the World Cup period.
In contrast, many countries that are already established global tourism destinations saw only modest growth in travel searches. According to the analysis, this suggests the World Cup had a stronger influence on raising awareness of lesser-known footballing nations than on destinations that already enjoy high tourism demand.
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Commenting on the findings, a spokesperson for ActionNetwork.com said: “Our analysis of search trends around the 2026 World Cup found that Cape Verde saw the single biggest jump in holiday-related searches of any competing nation, with searches for a Cape Verde vacation up 4,600% during the tournament, and cheap flights to Cape Verde up 4,200%. Czechia holiday searches rose 3,100%, DR Congo flight searches rose 2,785%, and cheap flights to Haiti searches rose 2,400% rounding out the five largest increases we recorded. What’s striking is that it’s largely lesser-known footballing nations, rather than traditionally popular holiday destinations, that saw the biggest surges, suggesting a strong World Cup run can put a country on the travel map in a way that months of tourism marketing might not.”
The report was based on worldwide Google Trends data collected across eight travel-related search categories for every World Cup nation, including flights, plane tickets, vacations, holidays, cuisine, and travel planning. Search interest was measured using Google Trends’ relative 0 to 100 scale, with average daily interest during the tournament compared against the pre-tournament period to calculate percentage changes.