Travel eSIMs Set for High-Growth Phase, but Challenges Remain

Tourism in 2025 is expected to surpass pre-pandemic levels, driving renewed demand for seamless, always-on connectivity, according to Counterpoint Research. As travellers seek alternatives to expensive roaming and inconvenient local SIMs, travel eSIMs emerged as a digital-first solution combining affordability, transparency, and instant activation.

The growing maturity of eSIM technology, supported by connectivity aggregators and MVNEs, lowered barriers to entry, allowing startups to launch global eSIM plans without owning network infrastructure. As a result, the travel eSIM market is now entering a high-growth phase. Counterpoint Research estimates third-party travel eSIM downloads will grow nearly 3x between 2025 and 2030, fueled by budget-conscious and digital-savvy travellers.

Travel eSIMs today often cost half as much and offer double the data compared to traditional roaming, while app-based prepaid models ensure transparency and easy top-ups. Riding this wave, digital-first resellers are scaling fast, expanding through social media visibility and partnerships with airlines, hotels, and OTAs to secure the traveler’s first point of engagement.

Over the past year, several digital-first travel eSIM resellers have raised fresh funding to scale operations, expand presence, and enhance their technology stacks. Investor confidence in this segment continues to strengthen, buoyed by the strong financial performance of leading players like Holafly, which has recorded over $500 million in cumulative revenues since the pandemic, and Airalo, which became a unicorn with $1 billion valuation. Nomad eSIM also reported 100% year-on-year growth in purchase volumes across both its consumer and enterprise segments. Many of these resellers now issue several thousand eSIMs daily, positioning themselves for the next wave of growth as travel volumes and consumer awareness continue to rise.

With strong tailwinds in place, digital-first travel eSIM providers now stand at the cusp of their next growth phase. The opportunity for digital-first travel eSIM providers is set to expand as eSIM adoption in smartphones accelerates. Alongside perceived technical complexities, device readiness is the biggest barrier to growth. According to Counterpoint’s eSIM Device Tracker, over 80% of smartphones will be eSIM or iSIM capable by 2030.

With voice needs shifting to OTT platforms like WhatsApp and FaceTime Audio, travellers increasingly prefer low-cost, data-only eSIM packs that offer far better value than legacy roaming plans. Recent developments, such as Xiaomi’s partnership with Airalo to pre-load its travel eSIM app on new devices, highlight how OEM collaboration could become a major growth catalyst. Ongoing eSIM policy reforms in China and the expected gradual inclusion of eSIMs in budget smartphones will increase eSIM penetration in populous countries such as China, India, and Southeast Asia, which have been actively adopting travel eSIMs.

Currently, growth in the travel eSIM segment is fueled by repeat usage, with frequent travellers downloading multiple eSIMs throughout the year. As eSIM penetration deepens across devices, the next phase of expansion will come from a surge in new unique users entering the ecosystem. Travel eSIM providers have diversified their offerings with competitively priced country, regional, and global plans, each catering to varying data needs and travel durations. This flexibility, combined with transparent pricing and digital convenience, continues to strengthen their appeal among global roamers. Increased collaboration between travel eSIM providers and various industry partners from the travel sector has created more opportunities for driving revenue growth.

Despite the immense opportunities, digital-first travel eSIM providers face growing competitive and structural challenges that demand a highly strategic approach. Mobile operators worldwide are responding to rising third-party eSIM adoption by revising roaming tariffs, introducing regional packs for key travel corridors, launching pre-paid eSIMs for inbound tourists, and even rolling out their own travel eSIM apps.

The emergence of plug-and-play B2B2C API enablers is empowering airlines, OTAs, and travel ecosystems to directly integrate eSIM offerings, shifting control closer to the first customer touchpoint. Low entry barriers have intensified competition, triggering price wars and challenging customer retention as users switch across apps seeking short-term deals. Local and regional providers offering hyper-personalized connectivity packs are further fragmenting the market, forcing global players to differentiate through brand trust, UX, and ecosystem partnerships.

As MNOs ramp up their own travel eSIM offerings and roaming discounts, digital-first resellers face a critical window to scale and build trust before market consolidation intensifies. While their agility and affordability have driven early adoption, Counterpoint expects that even by 2030, most travellers will still procure roaming packs through their home operators, driven by the assurance of number retention, reliability, and security. To compete sustainably, digital-first players must move beyond price differentiation, focusing on secure platforms, transparent pricing, and consistent connectivity. Ultimately, the winners will be those who can blend scale, trust, and strategic partnerships to evolve from disruptors into enduring global travel connectivity brands.