If you want to develop your own travel mobile app, it may be a competitive path to take, but it could be an investment that
enhances and improves your business like no other.
According to Statista, estimates are that in 2020, mobile apps will generate $188.9 billion in revenues via app store downloads
and in-app advertisements. Travelers feel safe and confident when planning their trips entirely through apps. According to Martech,
an incredible 85% of US travelers use mobile devices to book their travel activities.
In this article, we want to dive into the reasons why businesses in the travel industry should develop their own travel mobile app, and equally
important, how to start the process while being the most prepared.
Benefits of Travel Mobile App Development
The advancements in travel mobile apps in recent years have made it possible for travelers to know effortlessly all about their destination and before they even leave home. Things like booking hotels or flights in person and hiring a travel agent have become outdated and obsolete. The following are some of the main benefits that travel mobile apps can offer to both travelers and travel business owners.
Preview Your Destinations Beforehand
As a traveler, whenever you are planning a trip, it’s essential to have an idea of what the place you are visiting is going to be like. Travel
mobile apps can show you thousands of photos of your destination, with reviews from other travelers. This gives you a lot of insight
in advance about the surroundings and all the places you want to visit during your stay.
Not only can you scope out your main destination in a travel mobile app, but you can also discover similar places or learn about day trips
and similar services that tour operators and transportation services provide.
Secure Online Payments
Today’s mobile apps are capable of enabling safe online payments, thanks to a wide variety of financial technology services which allow users to carry out transactions fast and easily. This is beneficial for both users and businesses, eliminating the tedious task of managing payments, carrying a lot of cash from place to place, and processing paperwork. In this day and age, virtually every person in the world has a smartphone. This is also very convenient because it allows customers to save tickets or documents like reservations or plane tickets on their mobile devices. Most of the time, it’s no longer necessary to print any type of document.
Offer More Services Without Added Operating Costs
Travel mobile apps can offer all kinds of information and a wide range of services, removing the need to consult with an agent or make any phone calls. Travel mobile apps offer personalized recommendations, packages, experiences and events, transportation, insurance, and amazing features like geolocation and climate or weather forecasting. Travelers can find almost everything they’ll need to make the perfect trip from just on one or a few platforms.
Multiple Touchpoints for Engagement & Promotions
Phones are often the only device travelers carry with them as they go on vacation, so having a mobile app will help you to increase your
presence throughout the traveler’s end-to-end journey. With push notifications, you can provide a better service to your customers, whether
it's reminding them to check in for their flight or updating them on weather changes, notifying them to pack an umbrella if it’s going to rain.
When they arrive at their destination, you can send information about their accommodations like which amenities are included, preferred
local vendors, restaurant menus, etc. Throughout the trip, you can also send push notifications offering real-time discounts,
like for your hotel’s spa treatment packages, etc.
Get Social
In the age of the influencer, social media has the power of popularizing unknown and off-the-beaten-path destinations, catapulting them to fame
through posts that go viral seemingly overnight.
According to a recent study by Schofields, more than 40 percent of millennials aged 18 through 33 consider “Instagrammability” while choosing
their next trip. With your travel mobile app, you can foster social media engagement and promote your visitors’ sharing their original content
to help promote your hotel, tours, attractions, etc by offering them an incentive to post their content along with a dedicated hashtag or with
your brand’s geotag for greater visibility.
It’s important to consider ways to foment social media activity surrounding your travel business since word of mouth matters, as the millennial
generation is more likely to trust their peers over brands and celebrity endorsements.
How to take the first step
If you want to develop a travel mobile app for your business, you have to create a mobile app that your users will absolutely love,
and want to use again and again. There are different types of travel apps that you can develop: flight booking apps, accommodation booking apps,
transport apps, and travel guide apps. You can even add some extra features into your app, such as a travel itinerary or intelligent reservation
systems, geolocation, currency conversion, weather forecast, trip reviews, etc. You can also use artificial intelligence to create personalized
suggestions for everyone instantaneously or add chatbots to your app that will personally assist users with their inquiries.
The first step is to choose a development team that is well informed about the travel industry and can add value to your project.
Your team will help you determine which of all these features and technologies will work best for your business. Depending on market trends
and users’ needs, you and your team will determine the most important stages and goals of the project, and the best solutions for each one.
If you want to build your travel mobile app,and want to know more aboutthe custom software development process,
get in touch with us!
