From left to right: Geoff Freeman, U.S. Travel Association president/CEO; Kathy Nelson, Visit KC and the Kansas City Sports Commission president/CEO; Luisa Mendoza, Global Tourism Sports & Entertainment founder/CEO; and Gov. Mike Kehoe. Photo: Abbey Higginbotham/Axios
Visit KC and the U.S. Travel Association, the national trade group for the tourism industry, hosted a sports tourism panel downtown yesterday on what the World Cup means for the city's future.
The big picture: KC is hosting six World Cup matches, and tourism officials say the real prize is turning first-time visitors into repeat travelers for years to come.
"They're going to come back for the jazz, for the barbecue, but most importantly, for the people that are here, that makes Kansas City and Missouri such a beautiful place to be."
— Luisa Mendoza, CEO of Global Tourism Sports & Entertainment
