More Chinese design trips by smartphone apps

Online travel agencies are eyeing the travel app market as smartphones become almost ubiquitous. Instead of making phone calls and searching on PCs, more people are designing their perfect trips by clicking their phones this Golden Week Holiday.

Golden week for online travel agencies in China. It is that time of year when hotels and flights are fully booked and tourist attractions are packed with people. The difference this year, is more Chinese tourists are booking and making their trips with the help of cell phone apps.

The first Chinese mobile travel app was developed by qunar, the biggest metasearch engine in China back in 2009. The company has recently filed for 125 million dollars IPO in the US. Now, most online travel agencies have their own mobile apps.

With growth like that, analysts say innovations in mobile apps will be the driving force for online traveling in the future. Because the key to traveling is mobility. And that’s the beauty of mobile phone apps.