June 24, 2026
Sixteen host cities. A hundred and four matches. Fans from 48 nations. Now that the FIFA World Cup is underway, we're already seeing which destinations planned for more than the game itself.
The strongest content isn't coming from creators racing to capture match-day crowds. It's coming from local creators who were already telling the story of their city before the first whistle, and who can keep telling it long after the final.
The World Cup brings attention to a destination and it's local businesses, hotels, and attractions overnight. The challenge is turning that attention into something more lasting.
While fans fill stadiums, they're also searching for restaurants, neighborhoods, day trips, and experiences beyond the match. That's where creator content does its best work.
A highlight reel from a fan zone may perform well for a few days. A local creator's guide to where to spend an extra afternoon in Toronto or Kansas City can continue driving discovery long after the tournament ends.
For destination marketers, local knowledge is often the difference between content that feels promotional and content that feels useful.
A creator who already lives in a destination knows which neighborhoods come alive after dark, where locals gather before events, and which experiences visitors would never find in a guidebook.
That familiarity shows up in performance, too. Micro-creators consistently see engagement rates of 6–6.76%, compared to 1–2% for macro influencers*. People trust recommendations that feel lived-in.
The same principle applies whether you're marketing Mexico City or a destination the size of Marquette, Michigan. The best stories often come from people who already know where to point the camera.
Most destination teams are built to market one place. Events like the World Cup create demand for content across multiple audiences, channels, and moments all at once.
Managing creator sourcing, contracts, reviews, and approvals in-house can quickly become a full-time job. A single creator campaign often takes 2–4 weeks from brief to delivery. Multiply that across several creators or markets, and content production can become the bottleneck.
That's why more tourism brands are moving toward an always-on approach instead of relying on one-off event campaigns. The goal isn't just to capture a single moment. It's to build a steady supply of content before, during, and after it.
Years from now, few travelers will search for match-day footage from 2026.
They will still search for neighborhood guides, local recommendations, hidden gems, and authentic experiences in host cities.
That's the opportunity travel marketers should be thinking about now.
The content library you build during a global event can continue working long after the crowds leave. Creator content is already being repurposed across social, web, email, and paid campaigns, with 77% of brands using creator content in ads that see 4x higher click-through rates than brand-produced creative*.
The brands that benefit most from the World Cup won't necessarily be the ones with the biggest activations. They'll be the ones that leave the tournament with a library of local stories they can keep using for years.
A strong creator brief should focus on four things:
The most important ingredient, though, isn't in the brief itself: it's the creator receiving it.
When the person behind the camera already knows the destination, the content tends to feel less like marketing and more like a recommendation.
That's exactly what travelers are looking for.
See how CrowdRiff Creators helps destinations source and manage local creators at scale.
*Stats referenced from Aspire's State of Influencer Marketing 2026, ATTN Agency, Social Cat, Stack Influence, House of Marketers, Statusphere, Influencer Marketing Hub.
Photo by Anthony Maw on Unsplash
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