Travel apps are a new trend in the global hospitality industry. Top market leaders in the hospitality sector, such as Airbnb and Expedia, are investing resources into building robust, feature-rich travel apps.

Business leaders who are planning to create a travel application for their clients aspire to be as successful as these applications. How can we build transformative solutions like this?

Travel app ideas can be implemented more efficiently with proper brainstorming, an organized product development plan, and a budget. The cost of transforming a rough app idea into a reality is a question that all aspiring business leaders want to know the answer to.

This blog will help you understand the cost of developing a travel app based on its features, product types, and phases of development. You will also learn how to create a budget plan that is focused on your primary vision.

What is a Travel App? 

Travel applications are web-based or mobile apps that help users plan their trips and coordinate them. In addition to booking flights, hotels, and other travel-related activities, maintaining reservations, creating flight itineraries, comparing rates of other travel alternatives, communicating with others who are traveling to the same destination, and evaluating prior journeys are all features that can be found in travel apps.

Travel apps are very similar to other apps which require the user to interact with a mapping interface, like navigation apps, tracking location apps and real estate applications. Airbnb, Uber and Lyft are some of the most popular apps for travel. So, investing in travel app development with the help of an Android app development company can be fruitful for your business.

Market Stats About the Travel Industry

Let’s look at some statistics before we discuss the different mobile apps that are boosting the tourism industry. This year, the total revenue for the travel industry and segment is expected to reach USD 333.4 millions. Travel apps make it easier to plan a trip. By 2026, the sector is expected to increase at a CAGR of 11.05% and be worth USD 507 million.

• Travel & Tourism revenue is expected to reach $854.70bn by 2023.
• The market is projected to reach US$ 1,016.00bn in 2027, with a growth rate of 4.42 %.
• The Travel & Tourism Market is dominated by the Hotel market, with a projected volume of $410.00bn for 2023.
• By 2027, 133 million people are expected to be using the hotel market.
• In 2027, the predicted user penetration rate is 27.2%.
• Expected average revenue per customer is $46,000.
• By 2027, online sales will generate 74% of the total revenue in the Travel & Tourism sector.
• Comparing global revenue, the United States will generate most of it.

How Much Does It Cost to Develop a Travel App?

Many travel and tourism companies want to develop travel apps due to the growing demand for travel-related software. You immediately ask yourself, “How much will it cost me?”

The average cost of developing a travel app is between $15,000 and $25,000, depending on the complexity and location of the app, as well as its type.

Consult a travel app development company in UAE that develops travel applications if you want a more precise quotation. You can get a better idea of the development costs by consulting a travel app company.

In the next section, we’ll look at the features that can have a significant impact on the cost to develop a travel app.

Factors Affecting the Cost to Develop a Travel App

As a travel app agency, you will need to set a budget for the travel app development solution. As the number of features grows, so does the cost to develop a travel app. We have made a list of the most important factors that affect the cost to make a mobile app.

1. Complexity

Developing an app takes a long time and costs a lot of money. The complexity of the app is measured by its number of features, integration points, and custom functions. Let’s look at the table of the cost to develop a travel app on the basis of complexity.

2. Platforms

The next factor that plays a significant role in affecting the taxi booking app development cost. The choice of platform will affect the cost to develop a travel app. Costs change depending on whether you use the React Native framework to build apps for iOS, Android, or both. You can also choose between native and cross-platform apps.

3. Tech Stack

The next factor that affects the cost to develop a travel app is the technology stack. It helps you in creating the best travel app. The more complex and difficult technology you use for travel app development, the more will be the cost to build a travel app.

So, it is advisable to go for the simple yet effective technologies that last long. You can take an example of the below table of the tech stack.

4. Integration

When you add third-party services to an app development project, they make it take longer and cost to develop a travel app will be more. With cloud-based custom solutions, you are more likely to have more integration capabilities which require most initial investments.

5. Team Location and Experience

What it cost to develop a travel app depends on how skilled the hybrid app development company are and where they are located. Developers with more experience can command higher fees, which can be raised even more by the cost of living and running a business in the area.

It also comes down to the tech stack that is needed. For example, if you want to use IoT to improve how you run your hotel, you should look for a travel app development company that knows how to offer this kind of technological solution.

Essential Features To Develop a Travel App

It is important to pay close attention to every detail when making a travel app, especially when it comes to features. We will look at the customer and agent panels to learn how to create a mobile app for travel business that makes users happy and works perfectly.

1. Customer Panel Features To Develop a Travel App

● Login/Sign up

The first time a user interacts with the app needs to be smooth and beautiful. Users can quickly plan their trip thanks to streamlined registration.

● Search Functionality

A travel app that works well is one that has search tools that let you narrow down your choices of destinations, hotels, and activities.

● Messages & Chatting

When a user has a question or concern, in-app messaging lets them get in touch with your support team.

● Notifications

Notifications keep users glued to the app, making sure they do not miss a thing in their lives, whether it is a flight delay or a personalized suggestion.

● Booking

For booking everything from plane tickets to dinner reservations, an app’s booking feature needs to be strong yet easy to use, letting users get instant confirmations and safe payment processing.

● Trip Details

A user’s compass through the different parts of their trip is an overview of the whole thing at a glance, including the schedule and booking information.

● In-App Payment

Easy payments are very important. This is where built-in payment gateways come in handy, making sure that all transactions are safe and getting rid of all cybersecurity risks with every tap or click.

● Contact Support

When you need help, getting in touch with the support team quickly can save the day. Make this feature easy to find on the app’s main screens.

2. Agent’s Panel

● Property and Package Management

Travel app developers should give you control over managing properties and the tools to make flexible packages.

● Booking Management

Tracking, changing, and confirming bookings can be done from a single dashboard, which makes things easier for the agent.

● Payment Management

The app and your revenue management system should work together to create a safe place to handle transactions, make invoices, and keep track of payments.

● Analytics and Reporting

For long-term business gains, the way forward is clear: a strong analytics section that shows how users behave and sales patterns.

Benefits of Travel Mobile App Development

There has been a huge rise in the market for travel apps, and travel companies need to come up with new web and mobile solutions. When hotel businesses get involved in custom travel app development, they can make customers happier and improve how they run their businesses. Let’s have a look at the benefits given by a hybrid app development company.

● Customer-Centric Convenience

Today’s travelers want everything to be easy on their phones, from booking flights to finding their way around a new city in real time. The app turns into an essential travel companion and strengthens the connection between the customer and your brand, which encourages them to buy more.

● Data-Driven Decision Making

As part of your data management, a travel mobile app development services provider can give you a lot of information about your users and how they act. You can use this information to make smart strategic decisions about how to improve your services, guess what your customers will want, and make sure your marketing is just right. Also, sorting and processing big data automatically can cut down on paperwork by a large amount.

● Improved Operational Efficiency

When it comes to your business, a travel app can be the hub for many tasks, from managing reservations and payments to sending service requests to the right people and connecting to your property management system. It helps to get rid of the room for error and frees up your employees to focus on services that create value.

● Stronger Brand Loyalty

To get people to stick with your brand, make sure your app fits with its vision and meets the need of each individual customer. Making it easy for customers to talk to you, customize their travel packages, and get offers that are relevant to them will help your brand become a part of their travel experiences, which will lead to long-term relationships.

Top 5 Most Popular Travel Apps

As per mobile app development services provider, below are the most popular travel apps that you must take into consideration.

1. Hopper:

Hopper is a great app to use when you are planning your trip and buying tickets. The application tracks flight fares and is only accessible via mobile devices. It gives clear advice about the best time to purchase, including notifications of price drops.

This travel app is valuable because of its level of detail. This app doesn’t simply tell you to delay buying your ticket. It also gives you an estimated date that the price is likely to increase. If you want to build an app like Hopper, then you must consult with a iOS app development services provider.

2. Roadtrippers:

Roadtrippers are a great way to find interesting places to visit during a road trip. This app and website allows you to explore a map that includes unusual roadside attractions and other interesting places, such as museums, amusement parks, campgrounds, restaurants and more.

3. TripCase:

TripCase, a free travel app, helps you plan your trip. It creates an itinerary. The itinerary can contain arrangements for a flight, lodging, a rental vehicle, and a meal.. You can create an itinerary by sending your travel confirmation emails to TripCase. The app will do the rest. When you open the app or log in to the website the next time, you will see a chronological list of your entire trip.

Read More: An Ultimate Guide to Launch An On-demand App

4. TripIt:

TripIt creates an itinerary similar to TripCase, but it pulls out the most relevant information from your confirmation emails. You can still use the app if you do not want to allow TripIt to access your email. Instead, you can forward emails to the app or manually enter details.

5. Airbnb:

Airbnb can help you find an affordable place to stay, whether it is a room in a home or a luxury beachfront property. It also allows travelers to book other types of services, including tours, workshops, and classes.

How to Reduce the Travel App Development Cost?

Even though a well-made app could make your business idea come true, you need to make sure you have the money to do it. The cost to develop a travel app can help you stay within your budget and get the most out of your investment (ROI). And to help you with that, we have listed some tips:

1. Start With a Well-Defined Scope

You should have a clear idea of what the travel app is supposed to do before you start making it. This will keep the project from going off track and keep the cost to develop a travel app and time needed to make the app low.

2. Outsource Development

One or more of your development tasks might be better handled by a different business. Outsourcing IT can save you money, especially if you pick a travel app development company in UAE or another country where the cost of labor is lower.

3. Use Open-Source Technologies

Open-source technologies can help you make the most of your app development budget and save you money on licensing fees.

4. Prioritize Features

Choose which features are the most important and build them first. This will help you launch your app faster and save cost to develop a travel app on features that are not needed.

5. Choose the Right Development Team

When you hire travel app developers, make sure they have made apps like yours before. This will keep you from making mistakes and help you save cost to develop a travel app.

6. Test Early and Often

When you test your app early on, you can often find bugs and other problems faster. This can save you time and money in the long run.

7. Focus on User Experience

By focusing on user experience, you can make an app that people will enjoy using more, which can lead to more engagement and sales over time.

How to Fix a Budget Before Starting a Project?

Let us talk about how important it is to set a budget for travel app development after knowing the cost to develop a travel app. Setting a budget helps you understand how everything fits together and helps you take the right steps to develop your travel app. Hence, before you start doing anything to grow your business, make sure you remember these things:

● Helps Identify the Actual Needs

Setting a budget for a travel app development solution helps you think about what the end users want, so you can give them what they need right now. This will make it easy for you to understand what features your app needs and help you make the right choices.

● Aids in Market Research

As soon as you think about your budget, you have to go out and do a lot of research on the market to find out what the going rates are.

● You Need the MVP

That meeting with the investors will only happen if you have a minimum viable product. To know how much and how long an MVP will take, you need to have a budget.

● Need to Save for Marketing

There is no way you can be sure that your work and expenses will end when the app is finished. The development process has a few steps left. The real challenge is getting the app out there, marketing it, and getting it to the right people.

It is possible to figure out the on-demand hotel booking app development costs, but it is the costs that come up after the development is done that really affect how well an app does.

How to Make Money on Your Travel App?

There are usually three main monetization methods that top app developers in the market use. Here’s how travel apps earn money.

1. Merchant Model

Expedia’s model is based on the fact that it buys hotel rooms in bulk and then sells the discounted prices to customers. This model is also used for car rentals, flights, etc.

2. Commission Fees

Booking.com popularized the concept of commission fees, which allows you to charge hotels and planners a fee for listing on your application. You will receive a portion of every hotel booking that is made on your platform.

3. Advertisement Model

The advertisement model is another model to consider when discussing how you can make money with your travel app. This model is popular with small OTA agents. The cost-per-click advertising approach can be used to charge lodging establishments and airlines to use your app.

Final Thoughts

A mobile app is an excellent investment for any business in the travel industry today. You’ll want to have a clear idea of your business goals and desired app functionalities in order to rationalize the investment.

Costs are also affected by the location and qualification of the team. It is important to choose a mobile application development company who has a good reputation, relevant experience and a track record of successful projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How to develop a travel app?

To develop a travel app, follow these steps:

• Define your app’s purpose
• Plan features
• Design a user-friendly interface
• Choose a development platform
• Develop the app
• Test the app
• Launch on app stores.

2. How long does it take to build a travel app?

The time to build a travel app varies based on complexity. Simple apps may take 2-4 months, while more advanced ones can require a year or more, considering design, development, testing, and deployment phases.

3. How to reduce the cost of a travel app?

Here are the tips that you must follow to reduce the cost of travel app:

• Optimize server and database usage.
• Use cloud services for scalability.
• Minimize unnecessary features.
• Prioritize essential user functionality.
• Leverage open-source libraries.
• Outsource development to cost-effective teams.