Mobile connectivity is no longer an afterthought. It is part of the core travel experience. And that shift is now clearly visible in a new partnership between Orange Travel and Selectour, one of France’s largest travel agency networks.

Orange Travel, Orange’s global eSIM service for international travelers, and Selectour have announced a strategic alliance designed to make seamless and competitively priced connectivity accessible at the exact moment people book their trips.

From early 2026, customers booking through Selectour’s 1,000 points of sale or via its website will be offered preferential access to Orange Travel’s eSIM plans. The goal is simple but powerful: eliminate roaming bill shock, avoid unreliable public Wi Fi, and remove the friction of hunting for a local SIM on arrival.

In other words, connectivity becomes embedded into the travel purchase itself.

Why This Matters Now

The timing is not accidental.

Travel has rebounded strongly. Cross border movement is up. Business trips are back. And travelers are more digitally dependent than ever. Boarding passes, hotel check ins, ride hailing, banking authentication, remote work tools. None of it works without reliable data.

Yet roaming complexity has not disappeared. Pricing remains opaque. Fair use policies vary. Speed throttling is common. Many travelers still rely on public Wi Fi in airports or hotels because it feels “free,” even when it exposes them to security risks.

This is where eSIM distribution through travel agencies becomes strategic rather than tactical.

Instead of asking travelers to compare dozens of providers after booking flights and hotels, Selectour now integrates a ready made solution at the point of sale. That decision moment is critical.

What Orange Travel Brings to the Table

Orange Travel positions itself as one of the global leaders in travel eSIM, and according to the Kaleido Intelligence “Travel eSIM Providers 2025” study, it is classified among the “Disruptive Market Leaders.”

Its offer is built on several structural advantages:

Global coverage

Over 200 destinations supported through Orange Group’s 700 roaming agreements worldwide.

Flexible prepaid plans

Options range from 1 GB to 500 GB, valid for 7 to 90 days. Travelers can choose between “Data only” or “Data, Voice, SMS” packages.

Competitive pricing

Plans start at €4.99 for Europe and North America and €7.99 for the Middle East and Africa.

Security and support

Network quality backed by Orange Group infrastructure and cybersecurity offerings, with 24/7/365 customer service.

For Selectour clients, the process is designed to be frictionless. In just a few clicks on the Orange Travel platform, they can:

• Select a plan from the full catalog
• Pay using local payment methods
• Download and activate the eSIM via the mobile app upon arrival

It is a digital flow, but anchored in physical agency trust.

The Strategic Layer Behind the Announcement

Beyond pricing and coverage, this partnership reveals something more interesting about how distribution is evolving.

For Selectour, connectivity becomes an extension of its core promise. Not just flights and hotels, but end to end travel experience. Modern travelers expect to land connected. It is now as fundamental as having a confirmed booking reference.

For Orange Travel, the move is equally strategic. Access to Selectour’s agency network means presence at a key decision-making moment in the purchase journey. This is not a banner ad after checkout. It is integrated at the time of consultation.

Vincent Lahoche, Business Development and Partnerships Director at Orange Travel, describes the collaboration this way:

“We started this partnership by supporting Selectour at international events, such as their congress in South Africa. This partnership has been successful thanks to our offers, based on our 700 roaming agreements and Orange Group’s expertise. To meet their needs, we created a personalized co-branded affiliate portal. We are happy to work with one of the largest travel agency networks to offer high-performance connectivity with our ‘eSIM Travel’ offers, tailored for travelers worldwide. Our goal is to strengthen our collaborations with tourism sector players globally.”

That detail about a personalized co-branded affiliate portal is important. It signals a scalable model. Travel agencies can integrate connectivity without building telecom capabilities themselves.

Hubert Prades, CIO of Selectour, reinforces this positioning:

“As a longstanding partner of Selectour, Orange naturally becomes our partner for the eSIM Travel offer, designed to improve our clients’ comfort and experience. This solution has been available across all agencies since early January 2026. We are also working on targeted offers and promotions for our clients and international events with Orange Travel.”

The language is clear. Comfort. Experience. Integration.

The Broader Industry Context

Orange Group itself is one of the world’s leading telecommunications operators, with revenues of 40.3 billion euros in 2024 and 310 million customers worldwide as of September 2025. That scale matters when talking about roaming agreements and network resilience.

Selectour, founded in 1967, operates more than 1,200 partner agencies across France and has built its reputation on personalized service and proximity. This is not an online-only experiment. It is an integration into an established retail network.

The bigger story, however, is that travel distribution is becoming infrastructure-aware.

We are seeing similar moves globally. Airlines are experimenting with eSIM bundles. Online travel agencies offering connectivity add ons. Hospitality groups are exploring digital concierge ecosystems that include data access. According to Kaleido Intelligence, travel eSIM adoption continues to accelerate, driven by convenience and cost transparency.

But not all models are equal.

Some providers focus purely on direct-to-consumer sales via app stores and paid search. Others experiment with white-label distribution for airlines or fintech apps. What distinguishes the Orange Travel and Selectour alliance is the physical agency integration. That remains a powerful channel in markets like France, where advisory-based booking still holds weight.

What This Signals for 2026 and Beyond

Connectivity is no longer a post-booking accessory. It is becoming an embedded travel infrastructure.

This partnership illustrates a maturing phase of the travel eSIM market. The first wave was about novelty and early adopters. The second wave was about aggressive pricing and “unlimited” marketing claims. The next phase is about structured distribution and trust.

When a major agency network integrates a telecom solution at scale, it signals that eSIM has moved from niche to normalized.

The real competition now is not just on price per gigabyte. It is on reliability, integration, and ecosystem partnerships.

Compared to smaller digital-first eSIM brands that rely solely on online acquisition, Orange Travel leverages the credibility of a global operator and the retail footprint of Selectour. That combination may not always produce the absolute lowest headline price, but it can deliver predictability and reassurance. And in travel, predictability is often worth more than a discount.

As the sector evolves, expect more structured alliances between telecom operators and tourism players. Kaleido Intelligence’s classification of Orange Travel as a “Disruptive Market Leader” suggests that incumbents are not standing still. They are adapting distribution models to meet travelers where decisions are made.

The takeaway is clear.

Connectivity is becoming part of the booking conversation. Not an afterthought. Not a hack. Not something travelers solve in the airport queue.

And the players who understand that shift, and embed it early into the travel ecosystem, are the ones shaping what connected travel will look like over the next decade.