There is now an app for everything and the travel industry is no exception. There are also more smartphone users who expect more from travel apps. Developing a feature-rich app for your business can give you the upper edge; the best way to achieve this is to hire professionals.

Developing a travel app can do wonders for your business. Smartphone users are on the rise and expect all types of travel apps.

TOC

Introduction

Digital Transformation in the Travel and Tourism Industry

Travel App Market & Industry Forecasts

How Travel Apps Works

How Travel Apps Make Money?

Core Features of Travel App

Tips for Tour & Travel App Development

Tech Stack

Why Trust Acquaint Softtech?

Conclusion

FAQ

Introduction 

We all love to go on a vacation to relax, be it students or working professionals. The vacations we take are rarely unplanned and impulsive. This is the Internet age hence it is no big surprise that a majority of us look to the Internet to find the perfect destination and suitable travel agency.

Developing a travel app can work wonders for your business. Several surveys and studies suggest the travel segment is booming; for example, as per Statista, the total revenue in 2022 was $333.40 Million worldwide. This article provides more information on tour & travel app development with Laravel.

 Digital Transformation in the Travel and Tourism Industry

Since a high percentage of our research is done online, it also makes sense to make our travel plans online. There are already many people doing so with the help of various websites. One of the most appealing features of such mobile apps is that they are easily accessible and one can use a single app to plan the entire trip from travel tickets, hotel stays, car hire, and sight seeing trips. This one has all their tickets and booking confirmations in one place in one app.

There is stiff competition hence it is a good idea to consult the experts for this purpose. There are several statistics that suggest the same:

• The contribution of the travel & tourism industry to the global economy in 2021 was 5.81 Trillion USD.
• Total international tourist arrivals worldwide in 2021 was 446.2 Million.
• The amount spent in 2021 globally for travel & tourism was 2.91 Trillion USD.

Travel App Market & Industry Forecasts

The travel industry is growing at an exponential rate in the past few years. The global pandemic of COVID-19 did create a short hiccup however, there are now more people traveling than ever. Planning travel is also simpler and one has the smartphones and Internet to thank for that.

Some of the most common types of travel apps include

• Travel planning
• City tour
• Hotel & flight booking
• Travel guides
• Navigation
• Travel logs
• Travel Insurance
• Currency converter
• Language Translator and Nearby spotter
• Weather

Here are a few statistics that better describe the state of the market and what the future holds:

• Approximately 61% of people in the USA book their travel online using a Smartphone.
• 21% of Travel agents use mobile applications for the purpose of making payments.
• The value of the global travel and tourism segment in 2017 was 185.90 Million USD, and in 2022 was 333.40 million USD. It is expected to rise to 507 Million USD by 2026.
• Mobile app download for travel & tourism is almost $2308.2 million in 2022 and is projected to reach 78.4 million by the end of the year in the USA.

How Travel Apps Works

Travel apps are handy for planning our tours; this can either be a leisure, business, or special tour. These apps allow travelers to plan each leg of their trip. It also allows them to research places, browse through travel guides, refer to various reviews & ratings, and more. Travelers can book their travel and have quick access to all their bookings and tickets in the palm of their hands.

How Travel Apps Make Money?

Businesses tend to hesitate developing such an app because of the cost involved and unsure whether they can benefit from it. However, there are many methods available to monetize such an application. Here are some of the popular models:

• Merchant model: As the name suggests, this is a platform where the merchant purchases several hotel rooms or travel tickets in advance and sells them to customers shopping at their website.
• Commission: This model allows consumers to browse the available booking options using dynamic APIs and receive a commission for the bookings made via their platform.
• Ad Model: This too is a popular model where the business can charge other airlines or hotels for placing their personal ads on their portal.
• Listing fee: Your travel portal can charge a fee to list the travel agency or business that provides additional services.
• Premium fee: This is a strategy that involves providing basic services for free while the additional or premium features are available at a cost.

Core Features of Travel App

• My Account: Users can log in/register their accounts and manage their preferences here.
• Search and filters: The app will offer a robust search feature to list the perfect set of options based on search criteria with the added option of using filters.
• Product details: Users can find in-depth information on the product of their choice. This can be details of the hotel room like images, videos, descriptions, etc.
• Customer service: It is quite common for travelers to be full of questions. App gives access to a knowledge base, FAQ section as well as a 24×7 AI Chatbot and live chat.
• Booking: Travelers can grab their chosen travel arrangements early to beat the crowd.
• Review System: Consumers can check reviews and ratings from the previous traveler prior to making their decisions.
• Notification: The app will provide vital notifications to consumers regarding discounts, travel confirmation, and booking reminders.
• Offline Access: Users can access their travel details even when they are offline.
• Safe Payment Gateway: Travelers have a more flexible method of paying for their travel.
• Itinerary management: The app allows you to manage every aspect of the travel with updates, notifications, logging trips with images, and getting updated notifications.
• Trip planning: Plan the entire trip and synchronize each detail like the air travel booking, hotel booking, local travel selections, and more.

Tips for Tour & Travel App Development

There are three main options available when it comes to developing this type of app. One can either use an app builder, depend on in-house mobile app development or hire a professional development company. Here are a few tips to develop a travel app:

• Research well prior and find the right niche before making any decisions on developing an app.
• There are already many businesses offering such a service hence it is necessary to include something unique besides creating a feature-rich app to ensure it stands out.
• Search for the appropriate travel app development company to create the appropriate app with skilled developers and ideal resources.
• It is a good practice to research your competitors as well to ensure you end up with an app that keeps you a step ahead.
• Consider developing an MVP to get to the market faster, reduce risk and create an opportunity to optimize the product further based on feedback.
• Work closely with the development team by first ensuring you have a clear picture of the requirements to save valuable time.
• Ensure the development firm has a dedicated QA team to ensure your app is free from bugs and errors.

Tech Stack

There are several technologies one can use to develop an app like this. Some of the popular technologies one can use include:

• Laravel development services for the backend
• Flutter or React Native for the cross-platform iOS or Android app.
• MySQL, Firebase, and DynamoDB for the database
• Additional technologies like AWS, AR/VR, AI/ML, Google cloud, etc.

Acquaint Softtech is highly experienced in developing stunning solutions with a wide range of technologies. We have a knack for picking the right technology based on the desired solution.

Why Trust Acquaint Softtech?

The cost of developing an app like this depends on several factors: the nature of the application, features, and location of the mobile app development firm. At Acquaint Softtech we have extensive experience to develop a wide range of apps for several industries; the Travel industry is one of them.

Hire developer at Acquaint with extensive experience allows us to create stunning and creative solutions that do not burn a hole in your pocket. We offer timely solutions that are developed using the proven development methodologies and tested by our dedicated QA team.

Conclusion 

The travel industry is booming and the use of mobile apps is also on the rise. Besides the fact that there is an app for everything consumers also expect more with innovative features. For example, travelers often demand a virtual tour of the destination using VR technology prior to booking their trips. Hence it is vital one creates an innovative travel app to entice more consumers to book their vacations using your service.

FAQ 

1. Why develop a travel app?

A travel app offers all the essential services directly to the traveler. It allows the traveler to plan every leg of the trip, synchronize all elements, and make all the necessary bookings. Consumers are increasingly relying on apps that provide the complete solution, especially since this way they have a booking for travel, hotel, tours, and car rental in one place.

2. What are the key features of a travel app?

There are many types of travel apps however, the most common features of a traveling booking app include a literary generator, currency converter, world clock, geo-tracking, weather, booking hotel, travel, rental car, tour booking, etc.