If one needs to curate a promising and best travel portal, one needs to change their perception and start looking like a consumer. Technology has advanced the ways in which any specific function can be operated, but it has also increased the expectation level of clients or consumers. Being in a business, you need to put yourself in your customer’s shoes to understand the pain areas they face and then come up with technology-driven solutions for the same. The best travel portal development cost can be attained with the correct balance of technology and good strategy. In this era where everything is being driven by the Internet, considering developing a portal can bring out an amazing result for both you and your customers.
The online travel industry is being pushed by increment in the use of evolving technology as it helps travelers plan their trips at their comfort level and offers them multiple options. The emergence of the Internet within various sectors has propelled the online travel market, valued at $354.2 billion in 2020. It is anticipated to reach $1,835.6 billion by 2031 at a CAGR of 14.8%. (SOURCE)
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Segments that Drive the Travel Portal Development Cost
Setting up the best travel portal to enhance your customer experience and increase revenue can be completed when planned strategically. Coming up with ideas is not enough; you need to fix your budget for the same, as nothing comes without a cost. Working with the budget can be overwhelming as you need to look after every minute and the huge requirement to be embedded around your travel portal. Hiring the best website development services provider will push to one step closer to your requirement. Still, you will have to present the developers with your budget. The overall project cost depends upon the variety of requirements and complexities of the features you need within your portal. You need to decide on these vital segments before setting your budget.
a. Choose the Travel Commerce Platform
In order to develop the best travel portal, it is necessary to choose the platform you want it to be focused on. It can be anything depending upon the offerings of your business or the requirement of your customers. Anything can be your target, from hotel booking engines, care rental software, Europe travel guide and holiday package booking system to flight booking engines.. You must know that your cost would be affected by your choice of the travel module you want to have for your portal.
For example, if you’re going to develop your travel portal as a hotel booking engine software, then you need to understand that it is one of the leading travel commerce platforms. It generally comes with XML integration and uses an API-integrated reservation system. So, the cost of your portal will depend on the enhancement you need within your APIs.
b. Business Model Choice
How to create a travel agency website or portal is a question that can be answered better when the types of business model you wish to have been clear. There are two different types of business models that you need to choose to identify based on your customers. The types are B2B (Business to Business) and B2C (Business to Customer), and the features within these models differ. B2C models will require marketing tactics to help sell the services directly to the customers.
On the other hand, the B2B model will help connect you to travel-based companies, and they become your target audience. The travel portal development cost varies greatly within these two models as the features associated with the platforms are different. The portal framework required within these two business models is different and so choosing among these will offer you clarity about your total cost.
3. Technology Used Within
A good travel portal development requires much more than a great UI/UX. For proper smooth functioning technological approach has to be strengthened. For developing the travel portal software, various technologies must be used per the business requirement. A strategic combination of software tools ad programming languages is required to help your portal flourish in a better way.
Choosing the right technology stack for your portal is equally important as selecting the expertise for the same. So, it is advisable to hire the best custom software development company to offer you the best portal per your requirement. This portal’s front end or client-side includes various designs, structures, and so on to make your screen viewable. The programming of the front end varies from the back end and generally includes HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and so on. Further, the portal AI and ML can also be integrated to enhance performance. Chatbot drive by AI has been listed as one of the top tools to improve customer experience.
Essential Features for Your Travel Portal
Recently after COVID, the travel industry has gone through multiple changes. Just a few years back, people had to stand in a queue or consult an agent to book their tickets for any place. But now the time has taken an impactful turn where travel portals have arrived as the savior of time and money, so it is safe to say that the scenario isn’t the same due to technology.
The travel software development service providers are being consulted to develop an online portal embedded with the strategic setting to entice the target customer and increase revenue. Here we will be taking you through some of the essential features a travel portal must include. You must consider that the choice of your features will alter the budget you have for your portal development.
1. Easy Search Filter
The travel portal must offer the customer search filters to help them look for the information per their requirements. The filters should support the various settings, such as the date of the journey, place to visit, different itinerary-based tour packages, and much more. The search filters will provide customers with precise information and enhance the customer experience.
2. In-Built Translator
It is a tricky feature, but it uplifts your portal’s performance and reaches. It is one of the most innovative and demanded features within any travel portal. The application of any translator should be integrated with the portal, which helps travelers to make their visit to places with different languages easy. The translator can be used to translate foreign languages to the native ones known to the customers as per the setting.
3. 24*7 Customer Service
The portal development cost can be estimated well after deciding on the technological integration. The major reason to choose the best website development services providers is to enhance customer service, which can be done with conversational AI integration into the portal. Establishing a chatbot will take the load off your employees and offer 24*7 services to your customers. Customer sitting at their comfort level in any corner of the world can clear their doubts and queries using the chatbot. It will also guide them through different portal processes such as booking guidelines, searching for other packages, etc.
4. Payment Gateway
One of the portal’s most vital features is the simplified payment gateway form. Without this feature, your portal is useless, as customers wish to have everything under one umbrella. Multiple payment channels are out these days, and you must consider the ones you include within your portal. The payment process must be smooth without any hurdles, as an unnecessary wait will make customers lose interest in the entire booking process.
5. Customer Reviews
Customers can trust your portal if you offer them transparency, and it comes by adding the feature of customer reviews. It helps create awareness among the customers and offers them information or reviews about the different hotels, packages, restaurants, etc. It provides a professional look to the portal and helps the customers build their trust in your services. This feature can be added in an enhanced version but it will affect your travel portal development cost.
6. Google Map Integration
Your portal can be anticipated to be more successful when it has GPS integrated within. Customers need to check for certain destinations, such as hotel addresses, for their comfort, so the requirement for google map integration is high. It helps offer quick information about the distance of nearby areas or places to the customers.
7. Safety and Security
One of the most significant features that must be integrated within is the safety of the customer’s data. The payment gateways and the other processes require vital information about the customers, which means you need to be very considerate about the safety of these data. Trusting technological integration within the portal will offer a safe platform to the customers, enhancing their trust in your brand.
Advantages of Travel Portal Development
It is a world where people rely on a few clicks to fulfill their requirements. They also wish to plan their travel with ease. The travel portals should offer features that can help the customers with their needs and effectively increase the business revenue. It is why travel businesses today try to leverage travel software development services to have a strong base in the market. So, Here let us explore some of the best benefits travel portals provide to customers and your business.
1. Cost-Efficient
Developing a travel portal will be helpful for you as it will increase your revenue and be cost-efficient for your customers. The travel portal will offer all the major services to your customer, from booking flight tickets to checking out the places and their reviews. They do not need to go to any travel agent and pay extra for their services.
2. Enhances Customer Support
A two-way conversation is something a customer always needs, and it is one of the most challenging aspects businesses faces. Building a responsive set of communication methods is not easy, but with the help of an AI-driven chatbot, this has easy and possible. The customers can get 24*7 assistance with the help of a chatbot, and all their doubts can be cleared to enhance your customer experience.
3. Improves Brand Image
You need to understand that not just the marketing portion will earn you a brand name. Offering your customers, the ease they want or fulfilling their demands will also put you on a good list. In the era where everything is online, your business also needs similar exposure and offers fabulous customer service. For offering the best of the customer service you can hire custom software development company and enhance your brand image by adding the wings of next-gen technology.
4. Expansion to Global Platform
The portal offers you a platform using which you can connect to customers sitting at any place in the world. Developing a portal with features such as currency and language translator will help you improve your customer base, as these features attract travelers from different parts of the world.
Travel Portal Development Cost Estimation
The travel industry has observed a drastic change in multiple aspects, such as marketing strategies, operational methodology, etc. Online travel portals these days are not just meant to browse the best holiday packages but also include various other services like flight and accommodation booking, transport booking, and much more. Now all these add to the features of the portal, which directly affect the development cost. You have scrolled through the different factors that influence the cost of the travel portal development. As per the expert’s calculation, the estimate for your travel portal development will be around $30,000 to $200,000. However, this is just a ballpark estimation that can differ as per the requirements you have for your travel portal.
The travel website development cost or portal development cost will also vary depending on the service provider you make. The company you choose for this service should offer your users better security and flexibility with their travel plans and the data related to the same.
