Inbound Insider Magazine: It's Party Time
America is gearing up for some monumental events that promise to make 2026 a record year for tourism. Attracting travelers from far and wide, special celebrations will observe milestone anniversaries of the nation’s founding and of its most romanticized highway. Throw in high-profile soccer matches being held across the U.S., and you have all the makings of a big national party that will be music to the ears of hotels, restaurants and you have all the makings of a big national party that will be music to the ears of hotels, restaurants and visitor attractions throughout the land.
In 2026 the United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary, or semiquincentennial, of the Declaration of Independence, which was signed on July 4, 1776. But events during the patriotic commemoration, marketed as America250, will take place before and after.
Many are already comparing America250 to the country’s bicentennial bash in 1976, a star-spangled year that, for those old enough to remember, evokes memories bathed in red, white and blue. There were sculptures and monuments created for the occasion, special museum exhibitions, plenty of USA-themed merchandising, and festivities in towns big and small.
Former U.S. Treasurer Rosie Rios, who heads America250 as chair of the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, fondly recalls that celebration as an 11-year-old in Northern California, where she grew up with eight siblings raised by a single mother, an immigrant from Mexico. She watched sailing ships gather in Boston and New York harbors on her family’s black-and-white television, visited the national Freedom Train exhibit when it stopped in Oakland and witnessed the Fourth of July fireworks.
“I remember feeling a strong love of country during the bicentennial in 1976,” Rios said. “I want my kids—and all Americans—to experience that same feeling for the upcoming semiquincentennial.”
As home to America’s original 13 colonies, the Eastern Seaboard naturally will be a prime focus of semiquincentennial observances. One signature event will be Sail250 Virginia (June 12-14 and June 19-22, 2026), which will feature an international fleet of 55 tall ships and military vessels in Norfolk and other ports in the Hampton Roads/Chesapeake Bay region.
Route 66 to Celebrate Its 100th Anniversary
Since its official commissioning on November 11, 1926, Route 66 has captured the imagination of adventure-minded travelers. With the highway’s centennial coming up in two years, communities in the eight states along its path will be planning special events and polishing up their attractions for road trippers from around the world.
A pop culture icon immortalized in literature, music, TV shows, movies and other art forms, Route 66 symbolized freedom of the road for generations of travelers in the 20th century. Neon signs advertising mom-and-pop diners, drive-ins, kitschy roadside curiosities, cozy motels and friendly filling stations characterized this linear corridor that stretched some 2,400 miles between Lake Michigan in Chicago and the Pacific shores of California.
Charting a diagonal course through the country’s heartland, Route 66 was called the “Mother Road” and “Main Street of America,” Though it was replaced by superhighways decades ago, Historic Route 66 signs on local roads remind today’s motorists of its allure. Springfield, the capital of Illinois, will be a center of attention.
“Springfield has been preparing for the Route 66 Centennial since 2019, starting with a master interpretive plan and moving to action phases where we are completing projects like the walk-through Illinois State Fairgrounds Route 66 Experience and re-opening Shea’s Gas Station & Museum,” said Scott Dahl, director, Visit Springfield. “Tourism records will be shattered in 2026, led by international travelers exploring the Mother Road, North America hosting the FIFA World Cup and our nation turning 250 years old.”
Centennial festivities in Springfield will culminate with the 25th annual International Route 66 Mother Road Festival, set for September 25-27, 2026.
In nearby Atlanta, Illinois, the new American Giants Museum will tell the story of the 20-foot-tall “Muffler Man” statues that once towered over automotive and other highway businesses. Exhibits in the building, a replica of a 1960s Texaco gas station, enlighten visitors about the California company that made them, and by 2026 six of the rescued and restored advertising characters will be on display outdoors.
The World Cup Comes to America
2026 will also be a big year for soccer as the United States will co-host the FIFA World Cup with Canada and Mexico. The world’s most-watched sporting event will draw in an estimated 5.5 million visitors. Considering that of the 16 destinations hosting games, 11 are within the United States, the majority will be spending more from Los Angeles to Boston and everywhere in between.
Among the American cities that will host the World Cup include Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.
“[The FIFA World Cup] will bring an untold economic impact to the Harris County, Houston region,” said Bishop James Dixon, chairman of the Harris County Sports and Convention Corporation.
Dixon compared the numbers of hosting big-time sporting events, having last hosted the Super Bowl in 2017 which brought in $347 million over one week. The team at Harris County estimates that the economic impact of hosting games for this particular quadrennial event will be the equivalent of hosting seven Super Bowls.