Soccer-The economic goal that never came: World Cup falls short of boosting Mexico

By Noe Torres

MEXICO CITY, July 17 (Reuters) – The World Cup left stadiums packed and millions of fans euphoric in Mexico, but failed to lift a sluggish economy weighed down by weak investment ​and uncertainty over the upcoming review of the North American ‌trade agreement (USMCA).

The tournament, which ends Sunday after more than a month of matches across Canada, the United States, and Mexico, had Mexico host 13 of 104 games. However, it fell short of ambitious official tourism targets aimed at boosting gross domestic product (GDP), ‌which ​contracted in the first quarter.

“The World Cup will ⁠not structurally change the trajectory ⁠of the Mexican economy,” said Humberto Calzada, chief economist at Rankia.

Calzada noted the tournament offers only a short-term stimulus for an economy the government expects to grow between 1.8% and 2.8% this year, compared ​to analysts’ forecasts of 1.1%.

The economic impact was highly localised. Banorte lowered its estimate of the World Cup’s GDP contribution to 0.4%-0.5%, down ⁠from a previous forecast of up to ⁠0.62%.

Banamex calculated the total economic impact at $2 billion — about 0.1% ​of GDP and less than half of the $5.6 billion Mexico received in ​remittances in May alone.

Deloitte projected the competition created 100,000 temporary jobs, ‌10% fewer than its previous estimate. Meanwhile, BBVA reported its household consumption indicator fell 0.2% month-on-month in June, with spending on hotels down 10.5% and restaurants down 4.9%, despite a 16.5% spike in entertainment.

The benefits were uneven ⁠across the host cities of Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. The Mexican Restaurant Association reported that half of its establishments performed worse than in a ⁠typical week due to ‌low hotel occupancy and local protests in the capital.

Air ⁠travel data was also mixed. Passenger traffic rose slightly ​in ‌June in Guadalajara and Monterrey but fell at Mexico ​City’s main ⁠airport.

Analysts say the main driver of the Mexican economy remains outside the stadiums: trade certainty under the USMCA.

With companies holding back investment ahead of the trade pact’s review, and the economy contracting 0.6% in the first quarter, the IMF recently trimmed Mexico’s growth forecast to 1.2% from 1.6%.

(Reporting by Noe TorresEditing ​by Christian Radnedge)