- Destination mobile applications provide answers to any travel questions. A tourist can use the apps to customize their itinerary.
- Destination mobile applications are becoming popular because they offer a one-stop solution for users. Users can find car rentals, insurance information, ticket booking, travel-related shopping in one place.
- About 15% of tourists use destination/tourism mobile applications to plan for a trip ahead.
- Around 30% of people use destination/tourism mobile apps to search for hotels and flight deals.
- Travel and tourism applications were ranked 7th, among the most downloaded Apps categories.
Why Destination Mobile Apps are Popular
Potential Marketing Tool
- Destination mobile apps provide a platform for tourism businesses to stay connected to their customers by use of social media to interact directly with the clientele. The apps provide a way of knowing what the users are planning for the next trip.
Easy Booking
- Users can book a trip to their favourite destination with one click. All the bookings and travel arrangements can be made from one platform.
Simplifies Transactions
- One of the advantages of using destination mobile applications is simplified transactions as it reduces the paperwork process. Smartphones enable the user to save a soft copy of ticket bookings, reservations, and other things. All payments can be made from the app, and it promotes cashless travel.
Virtual views of Destination
- Using the app enables travellers to have a glance at the holiday destination before physical travel. The user can view photos and videos of the place to help them plan better.
Some Features on Destination Mobile Apps
- For navigation, mobile applications provide GPS services, maps, and route planning.
- Socially, the destination applications provide picture galleries, travel updates, reviews, and communication channels like instant messaging services.
- Destination mobile application users can use mobile marketing to be alerted of offers, contests, and discounts.
- The apps provide e-commerce services for accommodation booking, ticket booking, reservations, and shopping, among others.
Summary
The initial one-hour research led us to find some insights into the usage of destination mobile applications, standard features of the apps, and some information that made the destination/tourism mobile apps popular, among its users.