In the past, international tourists worried about pickpockets, lost luggage, or misplacing their passports in a crowded foreign city, but today, what we fear most when we travel has completely changed: a dead phone battery or a sudden loss of mobile data is the biggest source of stress you can face as a traveler.

The 2026 football tournament will bring millions of fans together for the trip of a lifetime. With the event comes high anticipation, but also an underlying anxiety about navigating new, unfamiliar, and massive environments. As people are traveling longer distances and spending significant amounts of money, the stakes for every single logistical detail of their journey naturally rise.

In this context, travelers rely entirely on their devices to guide them through unknown neighborhoods, translate local languages, and manage their daily schedules. Without a reliable connection, a simple mistake like turning at the wrong corner can quickly turn into a major stress source.

The findings from Holafly’s Connected Fan Report reveal a completely new reality for international tourists preparing for their trips, illustrating exactly how their priorities have changed regarding personal security and trip planning. In the survey, travelers were asked to rank their biggest worries, where a score closer to 1 means it is their worst and most frequent worry:

1. Losing internet access and maps is now the number one travel anxiety, with a high stress score of 2.47.
2. Transportation problems, like missed flights or getting lost, rank second with a score of 2.99.
3. Unexpected costs and hidden fees take the third spot with a score of 3.06.
4. The fear of theft and physical safety issues has dropped to fourth place with a score of 3.17.
5. Documentation issues, such as a lost passport or visa complications, rank fifth with a score of 3.30.

How will you find your way in a foreign city?

The scale of this multi-country event is completely unprecedented: according to the U.S. State Department, the tournament could attract up to 10 million visitors to the United States alone. Furthermore, tournament organizers estimate the entire event will generate 40 billion dollars in revenue, highlighting the massive economic impact of this global migration.

Fans will not just be sitting in a single stadium for two weeks, but constantly on the move in an event spanning three large nations and featuring 16 different host venues spread across multiple time zones. This continuous movement requires a safe connection to digital tools just to navigate the complex daily itinerary.

If you’re attending the tournament, crossing international borders will likely be an expectation rather than the exception, since 75.3% of surveyed fans plan to visit two or more host countries during their journey, and nearly four out of ten expect to navigate through three or more different cities.

Without a reliable solution like Holafly’s eSIM for the World Cup, finding your way through these unknown places becomes nearly impossible. Staying online is a must when it comes to coordinating travel plans, calling a ride, or looking for the correct train station in a foreign city.

Because of this reality, the research shows that 76.9% of travelers rely heavily on navigation applications, representing the number one data usage source. Additionally, 75.4% mention they will rely on messaging platforms.

These digital tools serve as a safety net for tourists exploring new territories in and out of the stadium. Over 87% of fans plan to participate in local tourism activities like sightseeing and dining, meaning they will be wandering through unfamiliar streets far from the stadium grounds. Losing your data signal on a street corner can instantly turn an exciting cultural adventure into immediate stress.

What happens to your budget when you lose your connection?

As you’d imagine, preparing for a journey across multiple countries requires a significant financial investment, with an average 12-day tourist trip estimated to cost $4,992, according to Holafly’s research. This budget covers essential expenses like international flights, accommodation, daily meals, and match tickets, but leaves out a hidden expense that could silently take up a big portion of your total budget: roaming fees.

Fans consume huge amounts of data on the road, using an average of 4.31 GB per day, with a peak of 4.09 GB on rest days when they are exploring cities and finding their way through new transport networks.

However, many traditional roaming plans restrict users to just 500 MB or 1 GB per day, meaning that you could likely reach these small limits in just a few hours. This could force you to either buy expensive additional data packages or face complete loss of connection. If you don’t prepare a data strategy in advance, you might allow hidden carrier charges to take funds that could have been spent on local dining or guided tours.

Traditional carrier roaming plans can cost you between $150 and over $300 for a 12-day stay, consuming up to 5.7% of the total travel budget. By contrast, a dedicated digital solution like Holafly’s eSIM for the World Cup costs about $54.90 for the exact same time period, reducing the mobile data expense to just 1.1% of your total trip budget.

How you can secure peace of mind before you even leave your home country

Waiting until you land to find a local mobile provider or buying physical cards at airport kiosks is not a reliable option for a multi-country itinerary, and because the fear of losing access to maps and messaging is so high, fans are changing how they plan their trips.

In fact, 43.1% of tourists cite poor connection and slow speeds as their primary frustration abroad, and 89.2% of surveyed travelers prefer unlimited data options over cheaper restricted plans simply to avoid the stress of rationing data.

These numbers show that staying online is no longer viewed as a luxury but as a basic travel requirement: 15% of people are willing to spend a bit more just to guarantee they will not be left stranded without a map or a way to contact their friends in a massive crowd, as it is a source of personal security and peace of mind.

By securing a reliable tailored solution like Holafly’s eSIM for the World Cup before arrival, fans can protect their financial investment and guarantee their safety, allowing them to fully immerse themselves in the tournament without the fear of a sudden connection loss.

Methodology

The insights in this report come from a combination of real-world data and user surveys collected by the research team at Holafly. To understand how much data people actually use during a massive tournament, the team analyzed the actual data consumption patterns of travelers using eSIM cards during the previous tournament in Qatar. This actual usage data was then paired with a global survey of 2,348 international travelers to measure real-world travel habits, specific app usage, and top safety concerns.

Finally, the total trip costs and roaming fee comparisons were calculated by matching official travel spending estimates from international sports organizations against the current daily international roaming rates charged by major phone networks.