Travel App Development Guide: Types, Cost, Process, and More

Quick Summary: Have you got a great idea of making traveling easy with a cutting-edge travel app? This article is curated for you to give the best information on how you can develop a travel application covering aspects like app types, essential features, cost, process, and more. Look at the details for better decision-making. Happy reading!

Travel has never been as fun and an easy experience as today, thanks to technological advancements. Technology has led to an increase in travel and tourism activities resulting in an uprising of the global travel industry.

Undoubtedly, the impressive growth of the travel industry is a lucrative opportunity for businesses. Therefore, entrepreneurs like you are planning to invest in travel app development to capitalize on this trend. A travel application is a web-based or mobile app that users can utilize to book and manage travel on the go.

However, with lots of such apps already existing in the market, creating a new one of your own offers both challenges and opportunities. Nevertheless, you can still create a successful travel app like Airbnb, Trivago, and Booking.com with good planning, research, and the right steps.

So, be it a mobile app or a custom web app for your travel business, following the right strategy is crucial for its success. In this article, you will get the necessary information about developing travel applications including steps and cost.

Let’s dive into the details without any further ado!

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Quick Facts About the Travel and Tourism Sector

The following image shows the revenues of top travel booking apps for the past six years:

In recent years the travel and tourism sector has shown impressive growth, and it has rebounded from the impact of COVID-19. The following stat shows the potential of this market:

• According to stats, 35% of all travel bookings made online are booked via mobile phones.
• In the previous year, the most downloaded travel apps worldwide were Google Maps (1^st), Uber (2^nd), and Booking.com (3^rd).
• The travel and tourism industry contributes US$7.7 trillion to the global economy.
• Booking.com is the most downloaded app among booking apps with 82 million downloads in the previous year.
• Over the years, the size of the global travel market has grown by nearly 41% in 2022 despite hurdles like the COVID-19 pandemic.

These stats say it all! You can benefit from investing in travel app development if you go with a perfect strategy.

Types of Travel and Tourism Apps

The following are the common types of travel applications that are widespread today:

• Itinerary Planning Apps: Easy apps to plan travel itineraries like TripIt, Wanderlog, and Sygic Travel.
• Hotel Booking Apps: To find accommodation and compare prices to choose the best lodgings, like Trivigo, Hotels.com, and Airbnb.
• Ticket Booking Apps: Allow users to book flight or train tickets like Expedia, ixigo, and Skyscanner.
• Travel Insurance Apps: Apps like AIG Travel Assistance and Allianz TravelSmart offer insurance services in case of theft, medical emergencies, baggage loss, and other kinds of losses.
• Travel Guide Apps: To find info about the best spots for excursions, restaurants, heritage sites, events, etc like TripAdvisor, Viator, and GetYourGuide.
• Transportation Apps: To book cabs to visit new places like the Uber app. People can book cabs on the go.

You can build an application from any of the above categories or a combination of features from them. If you prefer user engagement, performance, and ease of use, a mobile app for the travel and tourism business is the right choice.

However, you can build a travel web app if you need a cost-effective and accessible solution that can reach a wider audience.

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Essential Features to Build a Travel Application

Travel apps come with diverse features depending on their use and type. Let’s look at their core features.

Sign Up/Login

It is an essential feature for travel app development that allows users to register with personal information. Once registered, they can log in to the app for personalized experiences and features.

Search Feature

With this feature, users can search for destinations, tour packages, hotels, and more. You can also implement search filters to narrow down the options so that users can easily find what they want.

Booking and Reservation

Booking tickets and online reservations are also crucial features of a travel application. Users should easily book vehicle rentals, lodging, and flights, as well as get reservation facilities.

Reviews and Ratings

When people are planning to explore new destinations, they need information about those places and facilities there like food, accommodation, ambiance, etc. Reviews and ratings besides other details are crucial in making decisions.

Alerts/Notifications

One of the core features you need in mobile apps for travel and tourism is push notifications. They ensure engagement and retention by providing captivating deals, offers, and alert messages.

Safe Payments

Processing payments safely is integral to travel applications that are achieved with reliable payment gateways like PayPal, Stripe, Skrill, etc. It protects users’ data while performing transactions.

Messaging/Chatting

Don’t miss out on the messaging/chatting feature when you create a travel app to enable users to interact with others and share thoughts, plans, and advice for better tour planning.

Maps/Navigation

Maps and navigation are other must-have features. The features will enable travelers to navigate and find destinations through mapping services integrated into the app.

Rich Listings

Rich listings are important to gain user trust. Add listings with all important info, like the details of the hotel including location, images, cancellation policy, rates, reviews, etc.

How to Build Your Own App for Travel Business?

Successful companies like Airbnb have followed a strategic app development process to craft excellent apps as per market trends. So, you need to follow the right process to build your application.

The following are the different stages of developing mobile apps and web apps for travel businesses:

• Market Research

Begin by doing in-depth market research to explore trends, competition, demands, and pain points. It will help you ideate a possible solution.

• Determine App Features

Deciding app features is the next step and you need to determine if you want to make a simple app or complex app with innovative features.

• Choose a Tech Partner

Once you have your ideas and plans ready, you can approach a reliable travel app development company to materialize your ideation.

• MVP Development

When starting with a new app idea, it’s wise to invest in MVP development that will help you assess the feasibility of your app. You can refine it with more features later.

• Testing and Launch

Testing is crucial post-development to ensure it’s working as per the parameters. On completing tests successfully, the app is launched and marketed.

The above process also depends on the SDLC (Software Development Lifecycle) you follow like the Waterfall, Agile, Spiral, Iterative, etc. Modern SDLCs use an agile approach with DevOps to build and release apps faster.

Moreover, you can follow some important app development tips to create an exceptional application.

Tech Stack to Build a Travel Application

The following is the table consisting of technologies used in developing a travel mobile app:

What Will Be the Expected Travel App Development Cost?

The cost to develop a travel app can vary depending on its type, complexity, and features. Typically, the cost ranges between $50,000 - $300,000. The location of the development team is also an important factor in the cost.

For example, you can easily hire app developers in the Asia region at lower rates compared to other locations.

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