US travellers bought 49.7% more eSIMs for Scotland, 31.3% more for Malta and 29.9% more for Albania in the first eight months of 2026, as extreme summer heat and rising costs pushed North Americans towards cooler and cheaper destinations, eSIM provider Airalo said on November 4.
Airalo’s 2026 North American Travel Report, based on millions of eSIM purchases by US and Canadian travellers between January 1 and August 31 compared with the same period of 2025, found that US orders for Mexico fell 9.7% overall and 21% in peak summer. US orders for the Maldives dropped 43.5%.
Asia Pacific was the fastest-growing region. Orders for South Korea rose 65.9% from the US and 88.1% from Canada, driven by beauty, medical tourism and wellness trips. Japan stayed the top destination for Americans, up 10.5%, but its growth slowed sharply from last year’s 50% jump. Thailand entered the top 10 for both markets, and US orders for China rose 33.4%.
Canadians turned to Central America and islands, with orders up 28.3% for Panama, 27.4% for Nicaragua, 24.4% for El Salvador and 51.5% for the Azores, alongside gains of 30.7% for Vietnam and 15.5% for the Philippines. Canadian orders for Spain rose 7.3%.
Trips also got shorter. Seven-day packages rose from less than 1% of purchases in 2025 to nearly 27% in the US and more than 20% in Canada.
“Travellers took a highly strategic approach to inflation, prioritising high-value, immersive stays in Southeast Asia and Central America where their dollar stretched further,” said Emma Brooks, Airalo’s growth director for North America.
Airalo expects new fuel-efficient aircraft to turn more multi-leg journeys into nonstop flights to secondary international cities in 2027. Albania’s rise matches its showing in the World Economic Forum’s 2026 tourism index, where it posted one of the biggest gains, while competition for travellers’ data spending is growing, with Wise adding eSIM plans to its app.
Airalo, founded in 2019, is a travel eSIM platform with more than 30 million customers across more than 200 destinations.
