For the first time, gas savings and flight tracking apps appear in the 10 Most Downloaded Travel Apps, a sign of the times during the first half of 2022, leading app analysis firm Apptopia reports. Top 10 Travel Apps

FlightRadar24 ranks tenth worldwide and Upside (cash back on gas) is the third most downloaded travel app in the U.S. The other changes in rank since our 2021 download leaders list show up among ridesharing and online travel agency (OTA) apps.

The top 5 travel apps worldwide so far in 2022 are the exact same as for the full year 2021 that Apptopia reported in January, but in the second half of the list, new entrants include inDriver, AutoNavi Map, and FlightRadar24. FlightRadar24 uses augmented reality to let users scan a plane in the sky and learn the plane’s origin, destination, and schedule. Flight routes became interesting to people when Russia invaded Ukraine, and the no-fly zone over the country sent planes on curious routes. So much so that FlightRadar crashed in March. More recently, it’s become a popular way for travelers to manage travel expectations amidst record flight cancellations.

What’s interesting to me is who fell off the list to make room for new names to appear: DiDi, Grab, and Lyft. All technically ridesharing apps, but DiDi and Grab expanded to become super apps offering delivery and payments. DiDi was recently banned in China, so that will contribute to the download drop, but Grab’s struggle could be a cautionary tale about what happens when you try to do too much.

In the U.S., the story we can’t outrun is inflation, and it’s apparent by the Upside app’s #3 rank. Upside provides up to 25¢ per gallon cash back on gas at 25,000+ gas stations across the U.S., and similar rewards at select restaurants and grocery stores. We know from our recent retail apps research that discounts are converting mobile app downloads these days: the top grocers in the U.S. experienced record growth in May, and the word “coupon” was mentioned 75% more that month than in April.

Below Upside, the OTA apps are rearranged. Notably, VRBO already has 10M new installs in H1—the same amount that it had all year in 2021. Consequently, it leapfrogged Airbnb and Hopper to first place. Hopper’s 494% growth and succession over Airbnb in 2021 were the headlines to our Travel Trendlines report earlier this year, so to see it already beat is a big deal.

In the Top 10 Most Downloaded Travel Apps list, Airbnb fell the furthest, from fifth to ninth place. Within the Top 10 OTA Apps in the U.S. list, shown above, it ranks last among OTAs that offer short-term home rentals. This is not a great sign for the company whose name is the verb for renting someone else’s home. However, Airbnb holds on to its second-place rank worldwide, so perhaps it is focusing on growth outside the U.S.

The reality is that pent-up demand to travel at the lowest cost is causing fierce competition among OTAs, and we are witnessing them place their bets on growth. Airbnb bet on a significant redesign, Amsterdam-based Booking.com confirmed its priority is mobile growth in the U.S., and Hopper reported developing a Super App. From our view, Expedia looks to be streamlining its focus to growing VRBO and its own app instead of subsidiaries Hotwire, Orbitz, and Travelocity, which made 2021’s top 10 list but do not appear here.

Trip.com’s breakthrough in Apptopia’s global app download rankings correlates to increased traveller demand as the industry continues to recover following the outbreak of covid. This year, Trip.com’s European sites saw an average monthly growth in traffic of around 10% between April and July. In Asia, countries and regions that have relaxed their travel restrictions have seen an impressive market performance, particularly those in Southeast Asia. Overall in the APAC region, bookings on Trip.com increased by 21% in May and by a further 7.8% in June.

Feng Han, Marketing Director at Trip.com, said: “This year, we have experienced an energized, organic recovery of the travel industry. Leveraging this trend, our teams have adopted a targeted and data-oriented approach in each market to encourage users to download the Trip.com app. We are delighted to see our young brand reach the top 10 most downloaded OTA apps globally for the first time ever. We will continue to work to share the convenience and top-class services available on Trip.com with an ever-growing audience.”

The third quarter is the most active time for travel apps, so we expect more surprises over the next couple of months.

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