TIM is polishing its “tourist SIM” play ahead of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, rolling out TIM Tourist Milano Cortina Edition with a headline that is clearly built for travelers who land, open Instagram, and immediately start burning data. The new bundle is priced at €14.99 for 30 days and includes 200GB on 5G ULTRA, plus an optional “Unlimited Giga” add-on for €5.

If you have ever bought a tourist plan at an airport kiosk and felt like you were paying a “tourist tax,” TIM is trying to flip that perception with a big, simple number: 200GB for under fifteen euros. But, as always in telecom, the devil is in the small print and the network profile.

What’s new with TIM Tourist Milano Cortina Edition

On TIM’s own page, the offer is presented as a 30-day, non-renewable tourist bundle designed for visitors in Italy: 200GB, unlimited domestic minutes, and 100 international minutes for €14.99.

Two details matter right away:

• There is a separate SIM card cost of €10 (so your real first checkout is typically €24.99, not €14.99). TIM states this directly: “The cost of the SIM Card is €10.”
• The flashy “up to 2 Gbps” story is closely tied to TIM’s 5G ULTRA messaging and, more importantly, the Unlimited option. TIM lists different speed notes inside the offer details that are worth reading before you buy.

So yes, the new edition is a meaningful upgrade in data volume versus older tourist bundles people remember, but it is also a very classic operator move: a strong headline price, then a mandatory SIM fee, then an upsell to “unlimited.”

What you actually get (and what to watch)

Price breakdown

TIM breaks it down clearly: €14.99 for the plan valid 30 days, €10 for the SIM, and the activation fee is free.
If you are comparing offers in a hurry, compare the total cost to get online on day one, not the marketing price.

Data and 5G ULTRA speed reality

The marketing layer highlights 5G ULTRA and “Speed up to 2Gbps.”
Inside the technical details, TIM also notes the offer is enabled with a 5G service profile and references speeds of up to 250 Mbps down / 75 Mbps up for that profile, plus the usual real-world caveats like coverage, congestion, server, and device.

Then the Unlimited Giga Option section is where the “up to 2 Gbps” claim becomes more explicitly linked: TIM describes the add-on as enabling “5G ULTRA browsing up to 2 Gbps download and 300 Mbps upload,” available when activating the offer in TIM stores for €5.

Practical takeaway:
If you are a visitor who just needs maps, WhatsApp, ride-hailing, and uploads, you may not care about theoretical peak speeds. If you are a content creator pushing huge files, the network profile and where you are staying matter more than the logo on the brochure.

Calls, messaging, and the “tourist” use case

TIM includes unlimited domestic minutes and 100 minutes international.
For most modern travelers, calling minutes are a “nice to have,” not a core value. The core value is data, and TIM leans into that by framing popular messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, etc.) as the default.

EU roaming

A genuinely useful detail: TIM notes that the bundle can be used in Italy and roaming in EU countries, and that 23GB of the 200GB is also valid in EU countries.
That matters if your Olympics trip turns into “Italy plus a few days in Austria/France/Slovenia.”

Why TIM is doing this now

Big events are connectivity stress tests. Operators know that when a city hosts a global event, visitors arrive with two expectations:

1. Connectivity should work immediately
2. it should not be outrageously priced

So you see “event edition” tourist plans for the same reason you see temporary transport tickets and pop-up service desks: fewer barriers, fewer surprises, faster onboarding.

The Milan Cortina Olympics angle also fits a bigger European trend: operators re-packaging prepaid offers to look more like digital products. The best “tourist plan” is the one that makes you forget you are dealing with telecom at all.

The one friction point TIM has not removed is the SIM card purchase step (and the €10 SIM cost). That is exactly where eSIM-first experiences keep winning.

How it stacks up against alternatives

Let’s place TIM’s offer next to what travelers are actually choosing in 2026: local tourist offers (SIM/eSIM) versus travel eSIMs.

Local operator tourist offers (Italy):
TIM is not alone. WINDTRE actively markets dedicated tourist SIM options and explicitly mentions that you can receive an eSIM with quick activation if you choose the online flow, or pick up a physical SIM in-store.
That eSIM availability is a quiet but important competitive advantage because it removes the physical SIM friction and, in many cases, reduces airport chaos.

Operator-branded travel eSIMs:
You also have products like Vodafone Travel eSIM, which positions itself around instant activation and flexible plans, leaning into the “download and go” experience that travelers now expect.

Global travel eSIM marketplaces (data-only convenience):
Mainstream travel publications have been reinforcing the same consumer behavior: travelers increasingly prefer eSIMs for simplicity and setup speed, especially when they do not need a local number. For Italy specifically, recent guides (for example, TechRadar’s overview of Italy eSIM options) reflect how normalized this has become, with travelers shopping for plans the way they shop for travel insurance.

So, where does TIM Tourist Milano Cortina Edition land?

• If you want a local Italian line with calling minutes, TIM’s bundle is straightforward and the data allowance is generous for a 30-day trip.
• If you want the lowest friction setup, eSIM-first tourist offers (like WINDTRE’s online eSIM flow) and travel eSIM apps can feel easier, especially when you are landing late or switching terminals.
• If your priority is predictable total cost, TIM’s mandatory €10 SIM cost means the comparison should be €24.99 vs competitors’ true checkout price, not €14.99.

Conclusion

TIM’s Milan Cortina Edition is a smart, very “2026” operator bundle: big data, simple duration, and an upsell to unlimited that targets exactly the travelers who will live-stream half of Lombardy.

But it also highlights where the market is going. Tourist connectivity is increasingly judged like any other travel product: instant activation, transparent total price, and minimal paperwork. That is why eSIM-first flows from local operators (like WINDTRE’s online eSIM route) and operator-branded travel eSIMs (like Vodafone’s) are becoming the standard comparison set, not just “which SIM is cheapest.”

If TIM wants this offer to be the default Olympics pick, the next logical step is not adding more gigabytes. It is removing the last bits of friction and ambiguity: make the total checkout price feel as clean as the headline, and make “5G ULTRA” mean something consistent in the fine print. Until then, TIM Tourist Milano Cortina Edition is a strong option, but not an automatic one.