Holafly's head of strategy on what happens when the eSIM comes free with the ticket

Back in June I argued that when an airline bundles an eSIM into the ticket, the standalone travel-connectivity crowd has a problem. Holafly, Airalo and the rest built a tidy business on friction that airlines and handset makers are steadily removing. When the eSIM is simply in the booking, "buy our travel eSIM" becomes a much harder sell.

So it seemed only fair to put that to one of the companies I named.

Alfonso Mata Villa is Head of Strategy at Holafly, the Spanish travel-eSIM business that has grown up alongside the category. His answer, in short, is that Holafly has no intention of competing on gigabytes, because it does not think gigabytes are what people are buying. Data, he reckons, is already commoditised. What is left to sell is the absence of worry.

Whether that holds up when the alternative is free is the question the next few years will settle.

Over to Alfonso.

For readers meeting Holafly for the first time, give us the quick overview of the company, where you sit in the eSIM and travel-connectivity market, and your own role as head of strategy. What brought you to Holafly?

At Holafly, we like to say that we don't sell data, we sell peace of mind. Travellers don't buy an eSIM because they want gigabytes. They buy it because they want the confidence of knowing they'll be able to navigate a new city, stay in touch with family, access important information, and solve problems when they arise.

We make this peace of mind tangible through simplicity, transparency, and truly unlimited connectivity across the vast majority of our 200+ destinations. Our goal is to ensure that travellers never have to worry about running out of data, hunting for Wi-Fi, or facing unexpected roaming charges while abroad. What started as a simpler alternative to traditional roaming has evolved into a broader mission: making travel seamless, secure, and stress-free.

As Head of Strategy, my role goes beyond identifying long-term business opportunities. I work closely with our leadership to define our international growth priorities, drive market expansion, and spearhead innovation initiatives and strategic partnerships. Ultimately, it's about ensuring Holafly remains ahead of both changing travellers' needs and fast-moving industry trends. What attracted me to Holafly was the chance to help shape a company that is actively redefining an entire category at the absolute intersection of travel and technology.

eSIM has gone from niche to standard on new handsets in just a few years. From where you sit, how has that shift changed the economics of running a travel-connectivity business?

The mainstream adoption of eSIMs has fundamentally shifted the economics of our industry because it aligned perfectly with a deeper cultural change: our relationship with being connected. Over the last decade, connectivity has evolved from a mere convenience into an absolute necessity.

Today, internet access is woven into almost every aspect of daily life, from navigation and payments to remote work. Being disconnected is no longer just inconvenient; it creates genuine anxiety. As eSIM technology removed the physical barriers to switching networks, traveller expectations skyrocketed. They now expect the exact same seamless, uninterrupted experience abroad that they have at home.

As a result, access to raw data has become commoditised. The real value creation has moved beyond simply providing gigabytes and towards ensuring continuous, worry-free connectivity throughout the entire travel journey.

A perfect example of how we respond to these evolving expectations is our recent launch of Always On, a backup connectivity solution that provides emergency data to ensure travellers are never left stranded, whether they are transiting through an airport or facing unexpected disruptions. Ultimately, the true differentiator in this new economic landscape isn't the technology itself, but the reliability and peace of mind built around it.

Travellers used to just swallow roaming charges. How do you see the competitive picture now between eSIM providers, the carriers' own roaming products, and rivals like Airalo, and where do you think margins are heading?

The market is significantly more competitive and crowded than it was just a few years ago, which is a natural sign of a maturing category. Historically, travellers simply swallowed high roaming charges due to a lack of alternatives; today, they are highly informed and face an influx of options, from dedicated eSIM providers to traditional carriers launching digital products.

As the market evolves, our strategy focuses on delivering a premium service and superior product features rather than engaging in a race to the bottom. Instead of focusing on raw data volume, we channel our efforts into maximising value for money through advanced product capabilities and an ecosystem designed specifically for the modern traveller.

The real differentiators moving forward will be trust, service quality, and brand equity. We protect our positioning by focusing heavily on our unlimited data plans, eliminating connectivity anxiety entirely. When you are in an unfamiliar environment, the last thing you want to worry about is whether your data will run out or if support will answer when something goes wrong. The companies that will thrive in the long term won't be those competing in a race to the bottom on price, but the ones travellers trust implicitly to keep them seamlessly connected.

Where does the next phase of growth come from: more destinations, more data per traveller, or moving beyond travel into everyday connectivity? And what does that do to the business model?

For us, the next phase of growth does not mean moving beyond travel; it means going deeper into the travel experience to remove friction and support travellers wherever they are. We structure this growth story around two main strategic levers: customer acquisition and customer recurrence.

On the acquisition side, growth comes from expanding into high-potential markets, developing new acquisition channels, and addressing new customer segments. If you look at Holafly's evolution, we have always expanded by addressing new use cases. We started in 2017 by solving roaming frustrations, and in 2022, we removed the stress of counting gigabytes with unlimited plans. More recently, we expanded our reach by targeting business travellers, digital nomads, international students, and other profiles with specific, recurring connectivity needs through our business division and subscription models.

On the recurrence side, growth comes from ensuring that the millions of travellers who have already trusted Holafly choose us again for their next trip. This is where innovations like Always On come into play, providing emergency backup data to reassure customers that we have their back at every stage of their journey.

Delivering an outstanding customer experience, superior reliability, and trust are the ultimate drivers of repeat usage. Our core business model remains anchored in the travel vertical, but by driving both acquisition and long-term loyalty, our ambition is simple: whenever someone travels, we want Holafly to be the definitive brand they rely on.

Looking three to five years out, what does Holafly want to be, and what has to change in the mobile and connectivity landscape for that to happen? Where do you think the whole travel-connectivity market is heading?

Three to five years from now, our evolution will be entirely customer-led. Rather than defining what we want to become from an internal perspective, we believe our growth will be driven by staying extremely close to our users and continuously adapting our value proposition based on the friction points they experience throughout their journey.

The travel-connectivity market is heading toward a future where the technology itself becomes invisible. Travellers shouldn't have to worry about networks, complex activations, or counting gigabytes. They should simply arrive at their destination, feel instantly connected, and enjoy their trip. Therefore, the companies that succeed won't be those merely selling the most data, but those removing the most friction from travel.

Connectivity will always remain our core foundation, but we see clear opportunities to support travellers in additional ways whenever those solutions help make travel easier, safer, and more stress-free. Our long-term ambition is for Holafly to be recognised not simply as a connectivity provider, but as the most trusted companion throughout the entire travel experience; the brand that reliably has the traveller's back from start to finish.

Many thanks to Alfonso Mata Villa for taking the time to share his insights with Mobile Industry Review. You can learn more about Holafly on their website.