News

MENA eSIM Use Soared 20% In 2024, Boosted By Tourism Sector

The report, published by eSIM provider Yesim, also backs up recent projections that 68% of all MENA smartphones will use eSIMs by 2030.

Published

2 years ago

January 21, 2025

Nour Nasir

mena esim use soared 20% in 2024 boosted by tourism sector

Yesim, a global eSIM provider, recently published its Dubai Tourism & Connectivity Report 2024. The report highlights a sharp rise in eSIM adoption across the MENA region, closely tied to a booming tourism sector, increased IoT usage, and the expanding reach of 5G. The report builds on existing projections showing that by 2030, 68% of all smartphones in the region will use eSIMs.

Dubai: A Key Player In MENA’s Tourism Sector

Dubai remains a tourism hotspot, attracting 9.31 million overnight international visitors in the first half of 2024 — a 9% increase on 2023. The average tourist visit has also extended to 13.8 days — a remarkable 73% jump compared to 2019 — fueled largely by European tourists spending more time in the city.

“Dubai draws most of its tourists from the UK, Saudi Arabia, the US, Germany, and Australia, with peak travel season running from October to April,” explained Dmitri Verbovski, Yesim’s Founder and CEO.

Attractions That Keep Tourists Coming

Although Dubai continues to innovate with its many tourist attractions, shopping remains a major draw. During the Dubai Shopping Festival (December 6, 2024, to January 12, 2025) Yesim reported a notable uptick in eSIM purchases as tourists flocked to the city. Younger travelers (ages 18-35) are often drawn to luxury brands and the entertainment options found in shopping malls, while older visitors gravitate toward traditional markets.

eSIM Usage Peaks During Major Holidays

Yesim’s data reveals that demand for eSIMs rises significantly during religious holidays like Ramadan and the Islamic New Year. Ramadan orders surged 6.2%, from 19,453 pre-holiday orders to 20,665 during the month, reflecting increased travel and family connections. Post-Ramadan, orders jumped to 27,942, before stabilizing to regular levels.

A similar trend was observed during Eid. Pre-Eid orders were steady at 8,648, rising to 10,830 after the holiday — a 20% increase driven by extended trips and promotional offers. Islamic New Year saw an 11.7% spike in demand, with orders climbing from 10,334 to 11,592 during the celebrations.

Also Read: iFLYTEK Smart Translator 4.0 Review: A Traveler’s Companion

The Rise Of eSIMs In MENA

In 2024, the MENA region recorded 197 million eSIM smartphone connections, compared to 394 million using traditional SIM cards. Digital nomads and tech-savvy travelers are among the primary adopters, drawn to the technology’s seamless connectivity across borders, ease of use, and eco-friendly benefits.

News

Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 weeks ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

Also Read: Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.