Travel Apps See More Usage Than Mobile Travel Sites [Chart]

Nielsen has released a report looking at the usage of travel mobile apps and websites on Android and iOS.

They found that 95% of the time users accessed travel information from apps rather than the mobile web. This was largely due to Google Maps, an app that Apple plans to replace with its own in iOS 6. Google Maps accounted for 78% of all mobile time spent on Travel.

Americans' decision on whether to open an app or their mobile Web browser depends on the type of travel information they seek. The Cruise Lines category was exclusively accessed through the mobile Web, while 98 percent of time spent browsing map/navigation information was through an app. The Travel Destinations/Theme Parks category seemed to have the most balanced usage among smartphone owners, as 54 percent of time spent was through an app and 46 percent via mobile Web.


"The variation in time spent across the different travel categories shows that there's significant room for app development and growth," said Nichole Henderson, a senior research executive at Nielsen.

Seven out of the top 10 travel apps featured maps or navigation, while top web sites included airlines and travel aggregators like TripAdvisor, Priceline, and GasBuddy.

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