UNWTO seeks to promote rural tourism collaboration

16-01-24

Mobile data and analytics platform Data.ai - formerly App Annie - has released its latest report on app downloads, usage and spending worldwide, and the results show an increase in activity from travel brands, led by online travel agencies.

According to the State of Mobile 2024 report, in 2023 travel app downloads totaled just over 3 billion, up 13% from 2.7 billion in 2022. 

Integrated travel services apps, the category Data.ai uses for OTAs such as Booking.com, Expedia, Trip.com, etc., experienced the largest increase in downloads in 2023. - The travel category experienced the largest increase in downloads in 2023, up 34%, while airline apps were up 23% and hotel apps were up 16%. 

Global figures for 2023 show that the top five most downloaded travel apps are Uber, Where Is My Train, Booking.com, InDrive and Airbnb.

But if we look at aggregate year-over-year growth, the list changes. Globally, the top five travel apps by aggregate growth in 2023 were Railway 12306, Didi Chuxing, Qunar Travel, Ctrip and Umetrip, all based in China and a clear reflection of the reopening of travel in that region.

Globally, consumers are spending more time using their travel apps. In 2023, the total time spent worldwide on travel apps was just over 15.7 billion hours, up from 12.6 billion in 2022.

The most common type of travel apps used by consumers are ride-hailing apps, such as Uber and Lyft. In Q4 2023, 307 million transportation apps were downloaded worldwide, followed by 104 million integrated travel service apps. Airline apps were 59 million and hotel apps were 55 million.

Worldwide, downloads of all travel apps have increased substantially compared to pre-pandemic 2019 levels. The 2023 figures for airline and rail and coach apps are up 44% compared to 2019, hotel apps are up 32%, while integrated travel and transportation services apps are up 29% and 26%, respectively. 

Across all app categories and in the top 10 markets analyzed, Data.ai found that time spent on mobile exceeded five hours per day in 2023, up 6%. And marketers have taken notice: mobile ad spending increased by 8% in 2023, to $362 billion.