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

1 year 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

At I/O 2026, Sundar Pichai Concedes AI Must Deliver Real Value

Gemini 3.5, a personal agent called Spark, agentic shopping, and Android XR eyewear are all aimed at making AI feel useful, not just impressive.

Published

6 days ago

May 20, 2026

Nour Nasir

at io 2026 sundar pichai concedes ai must deliver real value

Google

Google’s annual I/O developer conference (I/O 2026) has recently become a status update on the same question: can the company turn its AI spending into products people use every day? This year, chief executive Sundar Pichai described Google as being in a phase of hyper progress, while conceding this is the part of the cycle where people want to see real value in the products they use on a day-to-day basis.

The strategy on display was to push agents — AI systems that act on a user’s behalf — into nearly every Google product at once. Search now has an “intelligent search box” that returns generated explainer videos alongside links. Gmail, Docs, YouTube and Maps are gaining their own agent layers, including a Docs Live feature that turns spoken instructions into drafted text with citations.

Two new models, Gemini 3.5 and a cheaper Gemini 3.5 Flash, arrived the same day. Google says 900 million people now use Gemini, and that more than 50 billion images have been generated with it. The pricing tier names are likely to confuse buyers: a new AI Ultra plan launches at $100 a month, while the older Gemini AI Ultra drops from $250 to $200.

The flashier announcements were Gemini Omni, a video generator pitched as a more realistic answer to OpenAI’s discontinued Sora 2, and Gemini Spark, a personal agent that handles recurring tasks across a user’s Google account. A new universal shopping cart lets agents complete purchases across multiple retailers from inside Google itself, placing the company between the merchant and the buyer, and also owning the checkout.

Also Read: DJI Teases Dual-Camera Osmo Pocket 4P For 2026 Launch

Google also confirmed its Android XR eyewear, built with Samsung and frames from Warby Parker and Gentle Monster. Audio-only glasses ship this autumn; a display-equipped version, which would superimpose live translations into the wearer’s field of view, is still in development. Both sets translate, however only the display version shows you the result.

What Pichai did not resolve is the bargain underneath all this. An agent is only useful to the degree it knows your calendar, your inbox, your shopping history and your physical surroundings. Google has now confirmed that, in time, the same context may carry advertising.