Mobile App Myths for Travel Busted

The Smartphone and tablet market is growing rapidly. There are millions of new phones manufactured and shipped to consumers every year. Consumers are moving more towards portable devices and this has created a necessity in the travel industry to have an app for your travel business. Although a lot of travel business owners have understood the need to have an app; there are many who have turned a blind eye due to mobile app myths. 

Here is a list of mobile app myths which have been busted

• Consumers still make bookings on their PCs: Gone are those days when consumers would make bookings only via their personal computers. A lot of consumers have now moved on to smartphones and tablets for making reservations. Smart phones and tablets are easy to use, convenient, and can be carried everywhere including while travelling. People like having all the information they need at their fingertips which is what smart phones do. PC does not have these qualities.  

• PC is still first priority: PC is no longer a priority when making bookings online. Consumers are equally comfortable making reservations on their portable devices and this scenario is going to change as more smartphones get shipped and more apps become interactive, easy to use, and easy to develop as well. 

• Small screens equal less functionality: This is not true. In fact, it is quite the opposite. Small screens allow you to turn the complex into something simple and easy. It allows you to navigate and consume content easier than on the computer. Travel businesses should feature only the most important information in their smartphone apps.  

• Mobile apps are expensive to build: Developing mobile apps is expensive only when you have to develop everything from scratch and if you have a large app and a lot of data. Developing simple, lightweight apps is inexpensive and, in most cases, does not require much time as there are a lot of graphics and templates available today. 

You may also read: How to Build a Travel App for Your Business?

• Mobile apps and mobile sites are the same: Not true! Mobile apps and mobile sites are different and can be kept largely different (if necessary). For instance, it is better to include eye-catching graphics in a mobile application instead of a mobile site as including a lot of heavy images on a mobile site might require longer for the site to load. On the other hand, mobile apps require a one-time download and the rest is all just data (mostly feeds or transaction data) going to and forth between the app and the server. It seldom requires downloading heavy graphics and can reduce the amount of time required to check or make a booking (compared to a mobile site). Although many companies might want to keep the UI of their mobile app similar to that of the mobile site, the experience can be different depending on many factors. 

You may also read: Why Your Travel Company Needs a Mobile App?

• Marketing mobile apps is difficult and expensive: Unless you are a new business, marketing your mobile app is not that expensive. There are many free methods you can use that can increase the number of downloads of your apps significantly. For example, including a link to your mobile app on your website, posting it on Facebook, Twitter, and other social networking websites, writing a press release, making a YouTube video, and including a link in your email signature are some of the free promotion methods that work great, unless, as discussed earlier, you are a new business with no customers or fans whatsoever. 

Mobile apps are not just an addition to your brand, they are necessities to market your brand in a crowded and competitive market. If you wish to have a comprehensive mobile app for your travel business, look no further than OTRAMS. We are a world leading travel technology provider.