Introduction
In this year, 2023, the revenue for the travel and tourism industry is predicted to clock US$854.80 billion. Another important figure that is published by Statista is that 74% of the total revenue will be generated through online sales. Are you also looking to establish your foothold in the travel industry? In this blog, we are going to learn the step-by-step process of building an application for traveling, along with some histories of tourism, so that the future can be predicted based on statistical figures.
Brief history
Tourism was never a luxury before the 17th century. It was rather considered dangerous, given that there were no safer routes and resorts than we have nowadays. The first such trip was carried out in the name of a Grand Tour across Europe that covered Italy, Greece, Germany, and France, specifically for historical and cultural learning.
The post-mid eighteenth century saw the phase of the industrial revolution, which led to the development of new cities and urban planning. Subsequently, new mediums of transportation and routes came into being. Finally, in the late 19th century, Thomas Cook founded the first tourism industry. The first journey was between Leicester and Loughborough through the rail network.
Since then, each passing decade has brought with it new technologies and inventions that have further led to the development of the tourism industry. For example, globalization and internationalization paved the way for hotel development, along with transportation and food restaurants. As of now, in 2023, the travel industry is a great giant and engine for any economic growth.
How to build a custom travel app?
Before jumping into the application development process, you will have to go through a few of the steps, in order to make the further development easy.
- In depth research of the target audience – The interface of the system is determined by the users you intend to attract with the application. The tourist business, for instance, can’t appeal to today’s students with a vintage aesthetic. The user interface (UI) will also alter if the app is intended for religious pilgrims.
- Selection of the best vendor – Your chances of success in creating a mobile app are also influenced by the company you choose to work with to get started. If you work with someone who isn’t well-versed in app development, or who isn’t even in the industry at all, it might have a detrimental impact on your business. Therefore, it is essential to perform your homework and verify the portfolios of mobile app development companies and historical statistics to ensure the partnership would be beneficial.
- Hosting selection -Travel and tourism generate a lot of traffic. And it’s critical to have a highly-developed and reliable server in order to handle such a large volume of users. In the United States, the average amount of time before a visitor leaves the page is just three seconds. There is a good probability that the user may abandon your application in favor of one that loads more quickly.
Technologies used to build the travel apps
The platforms used for developing the travel apps for iOS are Objective-C and Swift. On the other hand, engineers use Kotlin and Java 7 for building the same applications for android.
Salient features of a successful travel app
- Profile creation
If the user profile is created on any application, it provides a personalized view, and the data can also be saved to visit the portal again seamlessly. It also makes the payment gateways easily accessible.
- Search bar and filters
The overall experience of any user on the application will be enhanced if he is provided with some important filters, such as; prices, journey dates, location, hotel tiers, etc. Given that the amount of information available on the application is too much, the filters and the search bar would enable the user to finalize his destination earlier.
- Chatbox
Chatboxes are the new norm for any application. Likewise, in the tourism industry as well, people would like to get in touch with the hotel management, for example, or perhaps the transport manager, in order to find useful information prior to the trip.
- Review system
Humans trust their fellow beings when it comes to reading reviews online. According to a statistic, “49% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.” Reviews on the travel app would help the users select their destination easily and accurately.
- Notification
Notification is another feature that is highly recommended while developing any application. According to a report, an average person has 40 applications installed on his smartphone. It is, therefore, psychologically impossible for him to check the applications again and again. Hence, notification pop-ups make it easier for users to use any app. Also, there are coupons, discounts, and price changes that can be used to lure the user into any trip.
- Miscellaneous integrations
A user might expect the application to provide weather forecasting for his destination. Also, because international trips are very much in demand, especially in Europe; it is quite essential for travelers to get an idea of currency conversion rates. Second, they might also demand language translations.
Cost of development
The features that clients request determine the cost of developing the travel application. Also, the areas and niches that are covered through the application will also be factors in finalizing the cost. Some applications are developed for a particular country, while others are for specific communities, such as students, pilgrims, the elderly, etc. Considering the range of choices, the mobile application development cost will span between $60,000 and $300,000 USD. For a better understanding of the costing you can talk directly with us. For 15 years, we have been rated as the top mobile app development company in Ahmedabad.
Conclusion
Do you own a travel agency? Or planning to build one? Before it’s too late to gear up for digitalization, speed up for digitalization. Get in touch with us now. We are a renowned mobile app development company in Delhi. We are committed to providing you a highly responsive, attractive, and optimized mobile application for your travel agency. Leave an impression that can never be erased.