How is Augmented Reality Changing the Face of Travel App Development?

Have you ever played PokemonGo? Have you ever used IKEA app to decorate your house? Have you ever enjoyed Snapchat filters or done makeup with the L’Oreal app? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you have experienced what augmented reality is.

Augmented reality in mobile app development is changing several industries and improving the user experience to a great extent. Like every other industry that is enjoying the benefits of augmented reality, travel is also one of them. The travel industry has also experienced exponential growth by integrating AR into mobile app development.

AR is boosting the travel experience for all tourists. Today’s generation wants everything on the go and with AR in travel apps, users can search and book on the go. With the integration of AR, your travel app can have a competitive edge over other applications. Here are some of the types of AR travel apps to choose from.

Types of AR Travel Applications

If you are thinking about how you can integrate augmented reality, here are some of the simple and easy ways to do it. Check out the types of Augmented Reality travel applications you can build. Check and know which type would you like to choose. 

Location-based

AR applications that can track location are known as position or location-based apps. Location-based apps depend highly on digital compass data, GPS, or accelerometer. One of the top apps like PokemonGo uses GPS data to track users’ location and decide whether they should show Pokemon or not. Location-based approach for AR apps is great for developing AR-based city tours and navigation apps. 

SLAM

SLAM stands for simultaneous localization and mapping software that easily detects objects around the user. This software uses complex algorithms to check colors, patterns, and other characteristics of physical objects. This technology is modern and includes smooth-running high-end hardware. 

Marker-based

Marker-based augmented reality has diversified apps. Marker-based or recognition-based AR gives detailed information about any object after object recognition. It knows about the object that is right in front of the camera and provides on-screen information. It can either be codes, printed images, or physical objects. This technology is widely used in different types of AR travel applications. 

Also Read: A Comprehensive Guide to Integrate AI & ML in Your Mobile App

Scope of AR in Travel App Development

The future of AR in the travel app industry is bright and shining. It has the potential of transforming plenty of things. Here are some of the ways in which AR can be used in the travel industry.

1) Hotel and Accommodation

AR services offer hotels and accommodation great leverage to engage interactively with travelers and guests. It enables businesses to deliver information to travelers with 360-degree visual tours and displays of 3D views. When travelers get information in an interactive way can increase booking and hence improve business. Consumers can feel secure and confident about their booking and their property. AR-enabled travel apps can also allow guests to use AR-powered applications to navigate the hotels and use the amenities available to them.

2) Augmented Tourist Destination

AR-based mobile apps facilitate interactive tours of different destinations like buildings, landmarks, and ancient locations, and allow users to know all about them. All a tourist need to do is point the app towards a building or landmark and it shows a visual representation of all the history and events that have happened there. It offers an amazing experience to travelers and helps them to know and explore the location in real-time. It is not just limited to tourist destinations but the user can also point the phone towards a restaurant and get a menu and reviews of that restaurant. 

3) Amazing Navigation

AR travel apps ensure that any user doesn’t get lost in any foreign location despite the barrier of language. Mobile app development company integrates AR in travel apps and gives tourists convenience and a better experience. The arrows and pointer features of the travel app make it easy to follow instructions. This type of application mix the device camera with Google maps to provide navigation and enhance the user experience. Google maps are the pillar in providing real-time directions. Now, Augmented Reality will also facilitate Spatial orientation. The AR app combines navigation tips with real-time street view and extra information which might be needed by travelers. 

4) Local Transit

AR is improving local transit to a great extent. Things become extremely easy and secure which avails interactive map view of traffic, roads, destinations, and a list of best places to visit. Such apps can be used when you travel by cab and can also be used while traveling through public transportation. AR in mobile apps can entirely eliminate the need for tourist guides. Whatever a guide can do will be done by the travel app development in the smartphone. With the use of AR, a metro app can be turned into an engaging augmented reality travel app that too in multiple languages. 

5) Beacon & Push Notifications

One of the exceptional use of AR includes the app of beacons which works with the beacons. In the travel industry, this technology was very useful as it allows marketers and businesses to send push notifications or activate several features when users enter a specific location. There are hotels that allow their users to open the room doors using beacon technology when they are nearby the door. The same technology is also used to send reviews, menus, users maps, special deals, or discount vouchers whenever asked. 

6) AR Gaming

Augmented Reality has been used several times in the gaming industry but now the travel industry is also taking rightful advantage of this technology. A hotel booking company can improve its customer experience by integrating a fun element into the physical environment with the use of an AR travel app. Several hotels use augmented reality to allow kids to see Disney characters in their locations. For adults, AR applications allow the user to decorate the room and customize the room according to their liking. 

7) Eliminating Language Barriers

It is lovely traveling to foreign locations but difficult at times to do it without a translator to translate and communicate the local language for you. Reading travel signs, menus, and other is details becomes a difficult job in a foreign country. With AR technology, mobile apps can be used to translate several foreign languages and make the travel experience even better. Travel app development can translate all the boards, signs, objects, and texts using AR and deliver immersive and engaging travel globally. 

8) AR for City Tours

One of the huge advantages of AR is to improve or change the view of the world. Tourists can know great things about the destination they are traveling to and know about the recent architectural artifacts. AR applications can show the area around and how it looked in the past and relive the history again. Well, AR apps do not just do wonders by taking you to the past but they can also take you future by showing the buildings that are in planning currently. One of the best examples of the travel industry is Paris. Then and now the application will take a user back in the time to 20th-century showing wonderful insights and an unforgettable experience. 

9) Augmented Reality for Museums

Some of us get a glimpse in the eye with the name of the museum. While the rest of us thinks Museums are dull and boring. Now, with AR opening new doors of opportunities, museums will be seen from a fresh perspective. With the use of AR, travelers can very easily learn about different technical devices’ work, and the look of prehistoric animals, and know more about the creation of masterpieces in an engaging way. An app named “Story of the Forest” was created by the national museum of Singapore which is quite the same as PokemonGo. With this travel app development, Users can look for different plants and animals This way travelers are not just amused but also know about where the plants grow and where can those animals habitats. 

Why Should You Hire Travel App Development Company to Integrate AR?

We have discussed the role of AR in the travel industry. Now, let’s see why you need to hire a travel app development company to leverage the benefits of AR in a solution. In the modern era, the mobile application has become the traveler’s best friend. It has made traveling convenient, budget-friendly, and personalized. AR offers several possibilities to make travel even more interesting. Here are some of the amazing benefits of using AR in the travel industry.

Easy Access to Information

People love being wanderlust and exploring new places, new cultures, and traditions. By using this trending technology users can pick their destinations and experiences in a better way. It can be accessed through mobile apps as well which makes information simple and portable. With mobile app development, users can get reviews of the nearby places to visit, find Wi-Fi hotspots and check weather forecasts in real-time as well. 

Increased Convenience  

Getting the information on the go will enhance the convenience and increase comfort for the tourists. AR-based tourism applications show the way through arrows and other signs to an unknown destination. It helps like a local guide and sets aside the language barrier in a foreign land. Book tickets, book hotels, explore the best places to visit, top places to eat, and the best places to shop with mobile apps. 

Make Destinations Even More Useful

Augmented Reality allows the mobile app development company to create 3D models of landmarks and popular places of historical importance. Users can have a joyful experience and love traveling through time. Augmented Reality is great for building zoos and theme parks and making them look even more appealing than it already is. Getting art and science together and architecture with culture, AR can transform any tourist place and make it look even more wonderful.

AR has changed the four major sectors of the tourism industry. Here are they:

• Accommodation: Know details about the review and other essential factors of the hotels users like to book. 
• Food: A mobile app can inform travelers about the types of food available in different locations and the best places to eat in different destinations.
• Transport: This way visitors will know of the different and better routes to unknown destinations.
• Tourist Spots: It makes tourist destinations more attractive with a 3D experience. 

Wrapping Up

Give your travel business a new light and a competitive advantage. Thrive your business with new possibilities that Augmented Reality presents and make your business profitable. The importance of AR in the travel industry is very well understood.

Now, it is time to hire a travel application development company and get started developing a great solution. It has affected every sector in the industry whether it is navigation, food, hotel booking, ticket booking, or any other sector. Build a custom solution tailored to your business needs and create a flawless app. Invite more users, engage more users and deliver a smooth and user-friendly experience.