Toronto and Vancouver are set to get a tourism boost from the World Cup, but one expert says to be wary of rosy projections.

FIFA announced on Sunday the two cities will host a combined total of 13 games, including Toronto hosting CanadaB次元官网网址檚 first ever menB次元官网网址檚 World Cup match.

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said in a statement she was B次元官网网址渢hrilledB次元官网网址� to see the city chosen for six matches, while Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said on X that he was B次元官网网址渟tokedB次元官网网址� the city would host seven B次元官网网址渆picB次元官网网址� matches.

The City of Toronto said the event is expected to create 3,585 jobs, draw more than 300,000 visitors, and that Canada should see a $1.2-billion boost to GDP from the Vancouver and Toronto games combined.

The economic boost includes $393 million in GDP for Toronto, and an additional $456 million for Ontario, the city said.

The projected benefits to Toronto were up almost 30 per cent from what the city said back in mid-2022.

However, the hit to taxpayers will also run high, with Toronto estimating in 2022 that costs would be about $300 million and Vancouver that year projecting costs of around $250 million.

Neither city has released an updated cost estimate.

When Toronto first pitched the games in 2018, a city report estimated the cost at between $30 million and $45 million.

The expected boost to the economy also doesnB次元官网网址檛 factor in the tourists who would already be filling up hotels and restaurants during the busy summer season, said Moshe Lander, a senior lecturer in economics at Concordia University in Montreal.

B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e already filled during the summer with tourists, and the hotels are already full and the bars and restaurants are already full,B次元官网网址� said Lander, who studies sports economics.

If soccer-loving tourists simply displace regular tourists, the economic benefit is substantially lower, he said.

The attention that the games bring can also lead to a long-term increase in tourism, and a general boost to a regionB次元官网网址檚 profile. ItB次元官网网址檚 part of the reason Qatar spent more than $200 billion on hosting the last World Cup.

British Columbia is also betting on a longer-term boost, with Destination BC projecting that the tournament could generate $1 billion for the provinceB次元官网网址檚 tourism sector, when both the games, and the five years after are factored in.

But Lander questions how much of a profile boost Toronto or Vancouver could actually get from hosting the games, given their multicultural global makeup and having already hosted major international sporting events.

B次元官网网址淭here is almost no way that people donB次元官网网址檛 know what Toronto is, and Vancouver of course, is in a very similar situation,B次元官网网址� said Lander.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 not even raising the profile of these cities in a way that maybe poorer countries, or lesser known countries would get a boost.B次元官网网址�

While projections may have shortfalls, the results of some past events do show promise.

A report from Canada Soccer found the FIFA WomenB次元官网网址檚 World Cup 2015 and the FIFA U-20 WomenB次元官网网址檚 World Cup 2014 supported $493.6 million in economic activity for Canada, higher than the projections of $337 million.

The initial costs for both competitions totalled $216 million, generating $249 million in net GDP with $97.6 million in tax revenues supported across the country, according to the report.

Lander said similarly that given Toronto and VancouverB次元官网网址檚 existing infrastructure, they should come out ahead economically, but the taxpayer wont.

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