For a very long time, connectivity used to be a thorn in the side of every traveler. When arriving at the destination, they had to scramble to get a physical SIM, stand in queues, and, depending on where they purchased it, deal with enormous markups. However, that would’ve still been cheaper than buying it from a travel agency. 

Digital cards changed things, and avid tourists save anywhere from $10 to $50. Travel agencies selling eSIMs save even more and get better wholesale prices from their providers. They simply leverage their existing client base, package the cards in the trip, or maybe sell them separately, and receive a steady additional revenue stream. 

If you’re a travel agency owner looking to get additional revenue, eSIMs are a good option. This article goes into detail and explains why that is, providing margins, use cases, and outlining the inherent pros and cons. 

Where eSIMs Fit in a Travel Agency's Business

Travel agencies already manage every piece of a trip except one: how the traveler stays connected once they land. That gap shows up across more parts of the business than most agencies realize.

• Booking add-on. Offered at checkout, on the confirmation page, or in a pre-departure email for a customer. Rides on an existing transaction with no separate acquisition cost. Works best tied to the actual destination and travel dates rather than sent as a blanket promo.  
• TMC program. Solves the problem of employees needing reliable data on arrival. Fits into a TMC's existing itinerary and expense workflow. Often stickier than leisure since it can run as a standing corporate account instead of a trip-by-trip sale. 
• Mice and group travel. Addresses the batch-provisioning problem of large groups landing in one place at once. eSIMs can be issued in bulk ahead of a conference, incentive trip, or tour, solving an operational headache. 
• Inbound tour operators and DMCs. Replaces pocket Wi-Fi devices and airport SIM pickup with something travelers activate before they board. Cuts on-the-ground complaints and removes a physical handoff from the itinerary. 
• B2B agent and sub-agent networks. Extends eSIM sales through an agency's existing distribution channel. No new product build required, just turning on connectivity as another line item agents can offer, with commissions and markups run through the existing wholesale relationship. 

But decide to embed connectivity, your audience still affects sales performance. Students need fast, cheap connectivity; long-stay travelers require higher data limits; and large groups need consistent connectivity that aligns with accommodation and transfer coordination. You need to take all that into account before even deciding on partnership models. 

Travel Platforms, Partnership Types, and Use Cases

Usually, when a travel agency wants to embed connectivity in an app or website, they find suitable travel eSIM platforms. These are backed by MVNOs and perform many functions: analytics, line management, automations, etc. After establishing contact and going through the initial coordination call, you will have to think about which partnership you want. 

We’ve already discussed the partnerships at esimba.ai in this article. When it comes to travel agencies specifically, we’d offer the following options.

• Distribution. You register on the esimba.ai platform and purchase eSIMs for manual offline distribution (e.g., tour guide offerings of eSIMs when visiting the attraction).  
• API Integration. You use our API documentation and embed connectivity yourself. You can configure and show location-based bundles, adjust currency, and/or offer to buy eSIMs to your customers at any stage of the purchasing process. 
• Full or Managed Webstore. You create a store on your website with all the eSIM bundles listed. You can use our developer team and take over maintenance and sales afterwards, or allow us to completely take care of the integration and sales.
• White-label Miniapps. If you have an app, embedding connectivity could bring in significant additional revenue. By pressing a button or an icon, the user will quickly load a separate application for eSIMs.

The Real Margins: What Agencies Actually Earn

The actual margins depend on the deal you make with your partner. If it’s a commission-based cooperation, the percentage starts at 5% and can go up to 20%+. Usually, though, your connectivity provider will sell eSIMs to you at a wholesale price for you to resell them at a markup to your customers. At esimba.ai, we usually see our travel clients setting a 40%-60% markup. 

For your reference, here are the results of our client, Nikana, a direct accommodation platform that saw the following after 5 months of partnership: 

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• Total revenue: $68,200
• Net profit: $30,328
• Net margin: 44.5%
• Number of customers: 3,758
• ARPU: $18.15
• Net profit per customer: $8.07

As your actual profits depend on many factors, it’s unlikely you’ll experience the same sales boom. But if you have a rough idea or a pretty accurate estimate for your sales figures, you can try our ROI calculator below. It’s based on our sales and pricing data and works on averages, which should help you further estimate profitability. 

See how much you could earn as an esimba.ai partner

Pros of Adding eSIMs to Your Offering

If after seeing the numbers you’re still unconvinced about adding eSIMs to your offerings, consider the benefits below.

Use Existing Customer Base to Boost Revenue

When offering eSIMs as a travel agency, you’re already targeting an audience interested in connectivity. Your CAC remains the same, there’s no physical inventory, and you can start earning ancillary revenue as soon as implementation finishes. 

Personalize Your Offerings

It can prove challenging to collect user data and, as a result, personalize offerings. Modern analytic tools, like Firebase, could assist with that and even apply to eSIMs. As we can integrate third-party analytics tools during app and miniapp development, you’ll be able to see which audience segments purchase the bundles. This allows for creating customized packages and better personalizing overall. 

Keep Customers Reachable When Something Happens

Anything can happen during a trip: customer booking won’t show up, the hotel won’t be able to see pre-payment, etc. Travel agencies will have to support their customers, and it can prove challenging due to connectivity without local data. A traveler with an active eSIM can call or message support the moment an issue comes up, instead of hunting for Wi-Fi or a local SIM first. 

Scale Without Added Headcount

Once integrated, revenue grows with booking volume. A provider handling activation and troubleshooting means the agency isn't adding support staff to sell more eSIMs. Some partners, like esimba.ai, even offer training and will ensure your team knows what to do to help a customer. 

Cons and Risks to Weigh

But just as there are pros, there are also cons to such partnerships, and they usually include the points listed below. 

Revenue Scales Only With Volume

The markup you choose affects profitability; that’s a given. However, you only see good numbers with more eSIMs sold. On average, an eSIM costs around $4 wholesale; add 60%, and you get ~$6 on a single eSIM sold. Your actual net profit per eSIM is just $2, and if you never lower the wholesale price or focus on a volume sales strategy, it will take a while to make this an actual secondary revenue stream.  

Coverage Gaps Significantly Affect Sales Performance

Lots of things can be counted towards a provider-side coverage gap. As a travel agency partner, you may notice the eSIM activation success rate being high or low in certain regions (95% in the EU vs. 75$ in Oceania). This indicates definite connectivity issues. Or,  which is more likely, the pricing may be too steep in certain zones, and you’ll have to consider your approach carefully. 

Customer Support Training Required

A lot of our clients at esimba.ai didn’t expect they’d have to handle customer support after partnering. If you want to start selling connectivity, you’ll need a dedicated team to take care of tickets and complaints. Work closely with your partner on this, and ask for training materials or any kind of guidance. 

Attach Rate Has a Ceiling 

Even if we take best-case-scenarios into account, the attach rate is around %12 to %14. That means that less than a fourth of your customers will actually buy eSIMs. If you’re new to all this, you need to consider how to sell eSIMs online. Differentiate between channels, analyze your audience, and, as with customer support, ask your provider for help when needed.

esimba.ai as Your Agency’s Last Connectivity Stop 

Now that you’re well-informed and have considered everything related to eSIMs, there’s only one choice to make: decide on your partner or provider. And we’re more than happy to put our candidacy forward, having worked with many travel agencies. 

esimba.ai is an MVNO-backed white-label eSIM platform that comes with analytics, automations, and general line management. We work closely with all our clients to secure long-term partnerships and train them and their teams to fully support the eSIM selling process. We offer app and miniapp development services along with standard reseller programs and provide customizable bundles to all our partners to fit their target audience and destinations. 

We’re constantly improving our services and, more recently, started selling an eSIM bundle with a phone number, Hercules. Currently, it’s exclusive to our partners. esimba.ai values your opinion and, if you become a partner, will try to tailor the platform to your needs. If any of this sounds interesting, reach out today to explore possible options.