Tourism apps – how to find the right solution

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Spoiled for choice

This old saying is especially true for tourism apps!

Our five tips should help you to find the most suitable tourism app for your destination from the countless possibilities:

Tip 1 – What should it be?

Tourism apps can serve a wide variety of purposes.

Therefore, the first step is to consider which goals the app should actually support. e.g. should the app be used for vacation planning and inspire booking? Or should it serve as a destination guide on site and also include ticketing?
The more precisely you define your requirements, the easier the selection will be.

You also need to decide whether you want to use an existing solution or have an app programmed entirely according to your ideas. Most of the time, you can already find suitable tourism apps on the market that fulfill almost all wishes and purposes.
Such already proven solutions are usually faster and cheaper to implement. In addition, you do not have to deal with necessary updates, app stores, etc..

Researching existing tourism apps in other destinations is definitely worthwhile!

Tip 2 – Are tourism apps already out of date?

We believe: No, they are not. Because the smartphone is used more than ever for all kinds of activities.

Whether calendar, calculator, call list, boarding pass, bank transfer, bonus points in the supermarket, the Sudoku for in between or the hotel booking. None of this would work without apps, i.e. software programs that each fulfill a very specific function.

Calendars, calculators and Google Maps are examples of apps that are preinstalled on the smartphone due to their popularity.

Users then select all other apps from the App Store, and the trend is rising. On average, there are already 90 apps on every smartphone. And the more the devices and operating systems “can” do, the more functions are handled via corresponding apps.

Nothing works without apps, especially for young people!

Tip 3 – Added value for users

Of course, no one downloads an app onto their smartphone just because it’s free.

Just as it has long been the case with loyalty program customer cards, the situation is now the same with apps. They are only successful if they really offer users added value. This is especially true for tourism apps.

There are providers of tourism apps, who offer detailed information about the benefits for the destination and service providers, but hardly any about the added value for the target groups. It’s all about accurate data analysis, easy ticketing, increasing revenue, etc. But the focus should be on how guests can benefit from it. Only then will they be happy to use that app.

Tip 4 – Usability of tourism apps

Good tourism apps not only offer added value, but are also easy, fast and reliable to use. In their free time, no one wants to spend a long time dealing with the operation of an app.

Things to avoid are, for example:

• Complicated menu navigation with countless clicks until you get to a certain function.
• Links to websites that are not adapted to mobile devices (Responsive Design) or do not work at all.
• Intrusive advertising
• Long download times
• Interface with poor contrasts and small font

Tip 5 – online or offline app?

An online app has the advantage that it can include weather cams, current events, ticket purchases and on-site navigation. But beware of the “Swiss army Knife syndrom”, so that the app does not become too confusing! It is better to provide a few functions really well.

But it is even more important that a powerful network is available, wherever the online app is to be used. Because nothing is more annoying than an app that only works at home and in the hotel. Pure online solutions are therefore only suitable for urban areas.

In the great outdoors, hybrid or offline solutions make more sense. After all, “in the middle of nowhere” there are simply no cell phone transmission towers.
Still, you can find QR codes for entry in the summit book on pristine mountain peaks….and one wonders, why there are hardly any entries.

Offline audio guide for the mountain panorama – that’s added value powered by Speechcode!