With the travel industry booming despite inflation and Summer swiftly approaching, travel tech once again finds itself under the spotlight.

Travel Apps: Whether you’re heading somewhere within your home country or abroad for a few days or weeks, technology has made it easier to streamline everything from booking to flying, arriving, and simply enjoying your destination.

According to The European Travel Commission, 77% of European travellers plan on going on a trip by the end of June this year. In addition to this, figures from Statistica show that last year alone, paid travel app revenue was projected to reach US$99.61m.

In an industry that shows no signs of slowing down, and with the nights getting longer (and warmer), we take a look at some must-have apps that aim to make travelling a whole lot easier:

Revolut

A must-have for travelling, changing currencies and bill-splitting, Revolut makes it easier than ever to monitor spending, both at home and abroad. With over 28 million users since its inception in 2015, mentioning it is a no-brainer. Originally starting out as an app for money management, it’s now billed as a global financial super app.’ Not only does it boast digital banking services, but it also enables users to engage in stock trading, cryptocurrency and avail of loans. With three different versions available on iOS and Android (including one free), Revolut reportedly uses thirty-nine whopping technology products and services, including google analytics, HTML5 and Google fonts.

Currency Converter

This nifty little app is essential for those travelling to far-flung destinations where haggling may be involved. The currency converter is an excellent tool for calculating the costs of goods and services overseas where the price is foreign. It is free to use and available on Android and iOS; once downloaded, it can be accessed anywhere and works off the latest exchange rates. It also has a very useful newsfeed feature which keeps users up to date with all the different means of payment in existence. Fuelled by an Instant Answer API, it enables the transfer of funds in over sixty different currencies.

TripIt

For those with numerous destinations, the travel planning app TripIt can prove extremely useful for creating master itineraries easily. With both online and mobile access, users need to upload details of those bookings into the app, which automatically creates a detailed travel plan. You can also share your itinerary with family and friends so that they know where you are and when. With both a free and paid version, some of its smarter features include an interactive map, destination information, real-time flight alerts and even directions to and from each destination. Used by over 20 million people worldwide, it’s one of the highest-rated travel apps around. It’s available on both iOS and Android.

World Live App

Curious travellers looking to get a glimpse into their chosen destination can do so through the World Live app. Using over fifteen thousand cameras located across over one hundred and twenty countries globally, it’s a handy way to get a sneak preview as to where you are going. It’s free to use and available on iOS and Android, powered by WebRTC. Forget the luggage and passports and enjoy travelling virtually through this nifty piece of tech. Also worth mentioning are its HD-quality cameras, photos and also live broadcast capabilities.

Google translate

Downloading the Google Translate app is essential for those heading to destinations where English isn’t widely spoken. It enables you to hold bilingual conversations on the go through its voice translator, understand the text and even read it through its camera function. One of my favourite apps for solo travelling, it’s free to use, is available on both iOS and Android and features over one hundred and thirty-three languages. With over one billion downloads, I wonder how anyone ever managed to get from A to B without it!

Skyscanner

The Skyscanner app is essential for booking, researching and managing flights, particularly for those on a budget or those planning some cross-country travel. Helping users source and book the most suitable air routes for them, it’s also super handy for setting up price alerts on flights so you can get notifications on whether prices have gone up or down. It’s estimated that Skyscanner has over one hundred million users across fifty-two countries. Free to use and available on iOS, Android and online in over thirty languages. It’s unofficially claimed that the app is powered by an API connection with data aggregator platforms, but this remains in the air.