Top Mobile App Development Ideas for Travel Industry

Updated 14 Mar 2024
Published 12 Dec 2022
Gaurav Sharma 3482 Views

People are constantly enticing mobile apps for a variety of reasons in their daily lives. Undoubtedly, mobile apps in the travel industry is gaining enormous popularity. 

According to the findings of Travelport’s 2018 Digital Traveller Survey polled 16,000 passengers from 25 countries. This survey depicts that smart mobile apps are as important for travelling as for other facets of life.

When it comes to vacations, the first point of consideration is an ideal travel app. The majority of passengers nowadays choose to use mobile apps while travelling.

There are various sorts of travel apps spanning genres and needs. From reserving airline tickets, lodgings, and travel sites to arranging tours and estimating trip expenses, it helps in everything.

Using a travel app inextricably linked to modern travel and vacations is an amazing experience. A superb travel app acts as a problem solver when you are on a trip.

Having a mobile application for the travel industry is almost like having a continuous companion. People enjoy travelling, therefore developing travel app could be advantageous to you as a firm.

Using mobile applications has grown widespread in recent years, and there is some possibility that your app will rise.

However, your mobile app must include important advantages such as a tour guide, hotel booking, easy money payments, and some others.

Market Research & Statistics of Travel Mobile Apps

It is crucial to commence with the statistics when investigating how a mobile app functions in your specific travel business region.

  • The market size of the global online travel sector was estimated to increase in 2021 over the previous year. Overall, the online travel market worldwide was expected to be worth roughly 433 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, rising from around 396 billion U.S. dollars in 2020.
  • According to Statista This market is forecast to amount to approximately 691 billion U.S. dollars by 2026.
  • 42% of travellers use their smartphones to plan their excursions around the world.
  • The travel app industry has grown steadily practically every year around the world. By 2030, the tourist sector is predicted to rise to 1.8 billion people.
  • If the chatbots respond to their inquiries and assist them in organizing travel-related concerns, 50% of individuals are open to talking with it.
  • At a minimum, 30% of consumers are at ease when smart mobile apps arrange their next trip according to their previous travel experience.
Market Research & Statistics of Travel Mobile Apps
Image Credit: statista.com/

84% of tour operators want to invest heavily in the development of mobile travel apps. It is because the travel app industry can get various advantages with offering such services.

What is the impact of Mobile Apps on the Travel Industry?

Travel and tourism app development has established itself as a credible source of information for potential travellers.

It helps you eliminate the use of paper by using smartphone applications, and it also saves money on labour and resources.

Mobile apps have greatly enhanced users’ travel experiences, which have also boosted tourism-related businesses significantly.

There is no wonder that the relationship between the travel business and digital technology is thriving. The following are the top reasons that depict why the travel applications are so prevalent:

  • Travel Mobile apps enhance the traveller’s experiences. Travellers use travel applications to purchase tickets online, book hotels, and discover about destinations.
  • Travel companies may improve their accessibility and engagement in the challenging travel sector while using applications.
  • These apps increase client loyalty and expand the customer base.
  • Before, during, and after a trip, mobile apps are a terrific way to stay in touch with customers.
  • Apps save time and money and reduce paperwork, streamlines transactions, and lower public relations costs.

Travel Booking Mobile App

Some Popular Mobile Applications in Tourism Industry

Are you thinking to break into the travel industry with a novel or immediately appealing travel app idea? Now is the time to come up with certain best tourism app ideas.

Most popular travel applications have been accomplished by simply repurposing an old travel app concept with some unique additions.

Here, we will give you a few of the top travel app ideas to help you grow your business.

1. Mobile App that Acts as a Tour Guide

Another best popular travel app idea has inspired several professional mobile apps as guides around the world. You could develop a travel app that offers extensive city tour guides for places all around the world.

The traveller will be able to find good eating outlets and cafes comprising diverse cuisines and pricing categories.

Also, these apps include a plethora of local attractions and their histories, transportation and route guides, and so on.

The best thing about this mobile application in the tourism industry is that customers can genuinely trust it.

They can easily rely on advice from other visitors and professionals before opting to explore and enjoy a particular attraction.

The app streamlines the process of finding fantastic restaurants and lodging near popular tourist destinations.

As a result, a city tour travel app must be aspirational enough to provide more in-depth and comprehensive coverage than other comparable applications.

2. Mobile App that Plans to Travel while Saving Money 

It is usual for most of us to cancel a travel plan because the costs are simply unaffordable. To tackle this issue, travel application developers can create a tool that assists consumers in sticking to the most cost-effective plan.

Mobile App as a Social Media Platform

By proposing time-saving journeys, different routes, and other bargains and rebates, the application can help you save additional days on trips.

You can estimate about every cent of your trip’s travel expenses. So, consider this approach that allows you to save money for the trip.

It can be quite useful for travellers who frequently wind up stopping their vacation in the middle as they cannot accurately forecast their expenses.

As a result, consumers can utilize the free app to make money for planning their vacation ahead of time, avoiding unexpected costs at the last minute.

3. Mobile Apps for Locating and Booking Lodging

One of the best categories of mobile apps for hotels is finding and booking rooms where the client will check-in.

This travel app category proves to be beneficial to travellers. In essence, the travel app makes travelling more convenient.

Mobile Apps for Locating and Booking Lodging

It allows people to find a location to lay their heads after long hours of transportation with ease. Allowing consumers to book several types of lodgings, such as a resort or a home-like accommodation.

Users can also browse motels, hotels, and guest houses from a variety of sources. People can look for hotels by city, destination, feature, or identity.

Furthermore, users can select results based on price, ratings and reviews, WiFi connectivity, and other factors. A travel start-up company planning to launch a travel app can help you grow your business.

4. Mobile App as a Social Media Platform

This mobile app is a type of travel and tourism app development that began with popular vacation communities. Here, users ask questions and discuss things about various travel concerns and subjects.

Most of the travel platforms have evolved into popular travel-related social media platforms.

Mobile App as a Social Media Platform

There has been a small number of travel-related social media apps like MeWe available until now. Moreover, very few have a global following and constant participation.

You won’t appeal to all passengers with your social platform because preferences for specific travel issues and material vary greatly from one forum to the next.

A travel social site can include GPS-based maps, route planning capabilities, location-based photographs, and streaming video features.  Because there are currently similar travel apps, you will need to specialize in a particular travel speciality.

You can also integrate a rating and review mechanism for booking and other amenities and a backpacking budget travelogue to make your application more engaging.

5. Mobile Apps for Exploring Amazing and Fascinating Places in Cities

Several of the best travel mobile app ideas are making an app for travellers to find fun and innovative attractions in cities.

Travel apps in this category assist users in identifying restaurants that serve decent cuisine, prominent hangout areas, galleries, restaurants, photographic spots, and other hard-to-find items for buying.

Exploring Amazing and Fascinating Places in Cities

The travel app makes everything simpler for travellers and app users. This travel software allows users to discover the greatest places globally based on recommendations from friends and experts they can trust.

The Travel App streamlines the task of discovering the world’s best places so that you may do so without any effort.

If you have not chosen a travel app genre yet, you can use it to assist app users in exploring additional places, particularly new locations.

6. Mobile App Translations and Language Assistance 

It is another sort of app in the travel app industry that helps to examine before entering the sector. It would be best if you considered implementing a mobile app for active language assistance for cross-country travellers.

Mobile App Translations and Language Assistance

If you desire to gain a lot of profit with a unique travel app, it can benefit your audience in numerous ways.

The language translation software for travellers assists users in translating multiple languages that they do not speak. It gives users the ability to interpret various languages and messages.

Letting people snap photos and convert them to text in several languages as they desire. 

This mobile app also gives users access to individuals who can translate in different languages. Users of the language learning app can ask inquiries while buying and bargaining in unfamiliar locations.

Finally, offering offline access to translation tools for travellers on the road will be more useful.

Another characteristic that many apps imitate is the ability for users to pose questions in their mother tongue and have the answers transcribed into their original language.

This function will assist them in overcoming linguistic hurdles while shopping in unfamiliar locations.

7. Mobile App for Getting Around a New City

Many people have not considered creating a travel app with navigation as a primary feature.

This type of navigation app should be built with the idea of traveling to a new city, and it allows app users to enjoy travel experiences equally online and in real life.

This GPS navigation trip software will help demonstrate the exact location of the users and dictate the direction they are heading and the nearby locations. 

Moreover, users get the benefits of avoiding traffic congestion by getting real-time traffic updates. It also makes the roads more accessible to individuals who are unfamiliar with the city.

Clients of the app can explore and traverse the city and categorize and organize favorite areas into lists to be revisited later. 

They can also acquire information about the places, such as the addresses and opening times of eateries and other favorite gathering areas.

Furthermore, these apps will notify users if the roadway limits are ahead. Thus, they can pre-determine which mode of transportation to utilize on the roads. 

While driving, an app like this will indicate if there is any construction on the path ahead and highlight landmarks and their opening hours.

The user will be able to schedule their day correctly as a result of this.

8. App to Help You Handle Local Public Transport Services

One thing that irritates users at a new destination is a shortage of grasp of local public transit. When travelling to a new location, taxi mobile apps frequently deceive you.

You can bring a traveller-friendly app that helps with this inadequate knowledge about local public transports in new places.

Public Transport Services app

The travel and tourism app development for local public transport services will allow you to determine the correct times for local trains and buses.

Users may also see the next bus schedules for every bus network with this travel app. Customers can also save a list of their favorite bus stations so that they can return to them.

Suppose you own a travel start-up company and want to build a taxi app like Careem that helps people realize local public transport services. You can commence with this travel app genre before moving on to the next step.

It also provides information on carpooling, bike rentals, intercity or interstate transit systems, and other passes to the customer.

The software should also tell the user which destinations and locations they can visit and those they have previously explored.

Read Also10 Best Ridesharing and Carpooling Apps

9. Mobile App for Travel Payments and Contact Sharing

As digital payment apps become more popular, you can opt for a travel payment app. While travelling in remote regions, digitally-enabled travel cards make making payments and scheduling trips much easier. 

A specialized payment app with all the functionality that travellers on the go demand can be extremely useful.

Mobile App for Travel Payments and Contact Sharing

A travel payment app can have various useful features, such as smart travel card connectivity, contact sharing, and a currency converter. 

Many restaurants and hotels provide travel cards, and your travel app can easily connect to make things simpler using these cards for on-the-go transactions.

The online travel payment app will also assist international passengers with country-specific restrictions and currency.

A travel card may be used to pay for things, owing to agreements with hotel and restaurant companies and ticketing services.

However, it also assists travellers in sharing contact information or staying in touch with other tourists. 

It is generally performed when the smart travel card enables you to share your contact information with acquaintances or fellow travellers along the trip.

Read Also: 5 Most Popular Payment Gateways in Australia

10. Mobile App for Weather Forecast for Travelers

Consider implementing a mobile app that delivers real-time weather predictions for the travelling destination’s trip locations. It can be extremely useful if someone is travelling to a location with drastically various weather conditions.

Mobile App for Weather Forecast for Travelers

It should include particular details regarding the weather, such as temperature, humidity, and rainfall. The app could also advise what kind of wearables you should bring with you to these locations.

The software even offers temperature readings for the location the user intends to travel. The user has to enter a few locations they want to travel to, and the software will tell them which one is best for their time.

11. Mobile App for Grabbing Best Deals Nearby

For many people, their trips are incomplete without shopping, and people seek out unique discounts and deals that enable them to shop further.

Here, your app for smart purchasing has a better possibility of reaching such individuals. As a result, when customers install your daily deals app on their smartphones, they will receive text messages and alerts.

Daily Deals App

Notifications about recent arrivals, local trends, and special deals that are available nearby.

Such an application will also assist the user in maintaining financial control. It is another brilliant concept for travelling apps in the travel app industry that can help to grab the best deals near the travelling location.

You do not have to provide any additional knowledge or travel content, and it can simply act as an integrator app for various travel deals.

The same travel app may assist users in keeping a close eye on nearby restaurant specials, aircraft ticket reductions for specific destinations, and complimentary hotel offers.

The design and experience of such apps must be basic and appealing, and customers should feel more at ease when perusing the latest discounts and deals.

Users can also keep track of the best offers and discounts during certain seasons and public gatherings.

The most important thing to consider is the imaginative manner you can turn this app idea into a compelling and useful app.

You can consider including a currency converter in your application if you want something useful for overseas travelling.

12. Mobile App for Finding Kids-friendly Locations 

Travelling with children is tricky, and therefore, knowing about the activities and attractions to that you can gain access can be beneficial.

Families typically seek out kid-friendly cafes, shops, amusement parks, and other venues to help them pass the time. 

This type of travel mobile app concept would help families better plan their vacations while also providing memorable moments for their kids.

Parents will enjoy such an app concept, and your company will profit handsomely as a result.

13. Mobile App for Looking at Gas Stations or Restrooms

Travellers need to be aware of the appropriate facilities on the road, such as restrooms, gas stations, and garages.

Therefore, considering creating such an app is among the best travel app ideas, and it can assist travellers in locating petrol stations and restrooms along the way.

Mobile App for Looking at Gas Stations or Restrooms

The same software could also provide travellers with information on upcoming trains and planes and alternatives for different itineraries.

This is especially crucial if you are driving alone on the highway. If you are travelling with children, you’ll want to plan ahead of time where you will be able to rest and get some fresh air.

These fuel delivery apps are particularly useful when touring with your kids and family.

14. Mobile App For Car Rental

A car rental application is a quick and simple web resource for finding and reserving vehicles, making it ideal for travelers.

Mobile App For Car Rental

As a result, they may make bookings without leaving the convenience of their home, saving both time and money. It’s important to create an Android and iOS version of the car rental application.

A car rental app is a great option for tourists who want to explore a new nation independently but don’t want to deal with the hassle of arranging a rental car.

Within minutes of accessing the app on their mobile device, users can select an automobile that best meets their needs and specifications, provide some basic information like their driver’s license number, etc., and make payment using any of the accepted methods.

Travel Booking Portal

Essential Features that Needs to be Present in a Travel App

We have offered a large variety of options to build a successful mobile app for the travel industry. So, considering the latest trends in this digital world, there are some must-have features to include in your travel app.

Channel of Information

One of the benefits of a travel mobile application is that it reduces the number of documentation clients must bring on their trip. It indicates that this feature plays a significant influence in customers’ selection to install a mobile app. 

An all-in-one app must have all of the basic information. For instance, a phone number, a hotel address, a website, and a tourist recommended itinerary.

The information must also be updated regularly to ensure that it provides the most recent version.

Essential Features that Needs to be Present in a Travel App

Multi-languages

Travelling is a worldwide pastime that draws people from all over the world and allows them to access new markets. Even though English is the official and worldwide language, travellers prefer to utilize their native tongue.

It helps them to better comprehend the new culture, nation, and location they are visiting.

Location Assess and Advertising

The ability to use a mobile application to entice more clients may be beneficial to a company owner. Advertising can target the proper clients by identifying a smartphone location, particularly in tourist destinations.

Event Calendar

Every smartphone has a calendar, although it is not always available. The event calendar has all of the schedules and data for events, will provide tourists with more ideas for how to go around it.

It enjoys local activities while also boosting tourism.

GPS and Map

The desire for making their way in a new location, seeking the map for directions to their goal. The app’s mapping and GPS capabilities enable it to immediately advise users on the quickest route to their destination.

Finally, an excellent mobile app must delight end-users with a wide range of concerns while enhancing the travel industry. It provides significant benefits and beneficial effects for both business owners and visitors.

Offline Content

In this digital economy, some well-known locations refuse to access the internet or block tourist connections. As a result, checking content details offline should be more convenient.

It is also a fantastic method to get people to turn off their computers and enjoy their holiday.

Converting Currency Values

Foreign travellers are usually required to exchange local currency for spending in another country.

However, because not everyone is aware of the conversion rate, the currency converter tools will demonstrate their utility to the user.

Benefits of Using Mobile Apps in Your Travel Industry

One-Stop Shop

Customers are more likely to use a mobile app if it provides a wide range of options. The plethora of services that can be integrated into travel apps is impressive. Everything from flights, hotel reservations, cruises, cars, and excursions to the destination’s local culture. Basically, you should supply your clientele with anything and everything they might want or need. This will prevent them from looking at any other travel-related website or app.

Simplicity 

It’s common sense that nothing beats the convenience of mobile apps when it comes to ease of use. Customers only need to click a button to schedule their trips.

In addition, there is always available digital help through mobile apps. People like services that provide them with regular messages and reminders.

Benefits of Using Mobile Apps in Your Travel Industry

Constant Availability, Around-the-Clock

Customer service is one of the numerous obstacles that businesses, especially the tourism industry, must overcome in order to succeed. The opportunity to offer help whenever customers need it is one of the biggest benefits of using a mobile app for your travel and tourism needs.

Brand-Awareness

Having a travel app allows a business to reach potential customers in new markets, no matter where they are located. Furthermore, the application has everything a traveler might possibly need in one convenient place.

Improves Trip Planning

Mobile applications for the travel and tourism industry make trip planning a breeze for travelers. They can view images and videos of potential destinations before deciding where to go. A recent survey found that the majority of travelers like to learn more about their destination by watching videos of it first.

Electronic Payments

Carrying cash is a bother in and of itself. Maybe one is just paranoid and afraid of being robbed. Transactions don’t need to include physical money, which is one advantage of digital economies. A number of mobile travel apps have started including this feature to help users relax throughout their trip. Payments of any kind, wherever in the globe, can be made with the simple tap of a finger.

A Powerful Marketing Tool

These days, it’s hard to find a company that isn’t using some form of online marketing to increase its brand awareness and sales. The ability to communicate with clients via mobile apps is crucial for modern organizations. 

The most important benefit of a fantastic idea for a travel app is the ability for businesses to advertise their trip packages and discounts to a larger audience in real-time through push notifications, which is in addition to their ability to communicate directly with clients and learn about their interests.

Conclusion

We have offered a handful of the top travel app ideas. So, you can choose and launch your own travel start-up company. Travellers are more willing to use travel applications for their on-the-go demands in this digital era. 

According to the study, 58% of travellers use travel applications every month. All of these travel app ideas demonstrate how today’s travellers use their smartphones to locate nearly any type of assistance they require while travelling. 

These concepts are simply a starting point; you may always add your twist to them.

So, if you have any ambitions to create such a travel app, you can contact professional app developers, and they can assist you in reaching your objectives in the most efficient way.

Travel Mobile App- FAQs

  • What is a travel app’s scope?

    There has been a decline in tourism due to the spread of COVID, although this is expected to improve by 2022. Therefore, in 2023 and beyond, the apps that differentiate themselves by providing services that users actually want to pay for will thrive despite the fierce competition.

  • How do I build a mobile travel application?

    If you follow these steps, you’ll have a successful travel app of your own: pick a niche, investigate competitors, undertake a research phase, put together a development team, and launch the app properly.

  • What features are necessary for a travel application?

    A decent travel app will provide useful tools like a journey planner, transportation, scheduling and booking services, route planning, weather prediction, currency converter, and so on.

  • What is the cost of developing a travel app?

    A travel app’s development cost is highly determined by a number of variables, including the app’s kind, the complexities of the design, the functionalities, the selected platforms, the location of developers, and so on. In order to acquire a ballpark estimate for the creation of a travel app, please contact us with the specifics of your project.

  • How exactly do travel applications make money?

    A travel application can make money in a number of ways, through affiliate commissions on bookings and reservations, through premium listings, through in-app purchases and sponsorships, etc.

Gaurav Sharma

Gourav Sharma is a Digital Marketing Strategist at Arka Softwares, a leading web development company. He has 2 years of experience in the Information Technology industry. He spends his time reading about new trends in Digital Marketing and the latest app development technologies.

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