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.

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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

Instagram Redraws Its Wordmark And The Internet Reads “Instagzam”

Instagram’s first wordmark refresh in a decade arrives with new fonts, a restrained gradient — and a Reddit verdict of sidegrade.

Published

4 days ago

August 14, 2026

Nour Nasir

Instagram

Although Instagram’s famous camera icon hasn’t changed, the company has refreshed the handwritten wordmark at the top of its app. This is the first redesign we’ve seen in ten years, and one the internet promptly set about renaming.

“The wordmark at the top of the app hasn’t changed in 10 years, so it was time for a refresh,” Instagram head Adam Mosseri wrote in a post on August 13, describing the new version as “cleaner and more modern” while keeping references to the original design.

Instagram says its team explored hundreds of options — all-caps lettering, camera-inspired concepts, even literal handwriting — before returning to script. “Script reflects individuality, so referencing that felt right,” Instagram director of product design Jasmine Probst said in Meta’s announcement. “The new wordmark is bolder and simpler, with touches of unexpectedness. It cues individual expression, a personal voice, both of which have always been core to Instagram”.

The wordmark is part of a broader brand overhaul: an updated Instagram Sans typeface, two new fonts — the hand-drawn Instagram Pen and Instagram Mono — plus refreshed motion and layouts, and more restrained use of the signature gradient. The wordmark is rolling out globally now, with the rest arriving throughout 2026 and beyond.

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The design mixes cursive and print lettering, some characters connected and others floating free. That hybrid approach, combined with unusually shaped “s” and “r” characters, led some users to conclude the logo actually reads “Instagzam”. On the r/logodesign subreddit, one user said the wordmark looked “fan-made,” like something built in Canva; another called it “an unsettling mix of manuscript and cursive”; a third summarized it as a “sidegrade” — or, inevitably, a “zidegrade”.

Not everyone was hostile to the new look. Some found the half-cursive design stylish and surprisingly readable, while others called it an improvement on its predecessor, and one commenter argued Instagram was simply adopting minimalist branding later than everyone else. Either way, the platform now has a refreshed identity, three updated fonts, and an unofficial new pronunciation.