TripAdvisor^®, the world’s largest travel site*, today announced it has reached the mobile milestone of 100 million downloads for its free app for iPhone and Android. The number of downloads more than doubled in the past year and is up 6x from 2011. According to data from Distimo, a global leader in business intelligence and app market data, TripAdvisor is now the most popular travel app based on total App Store downloads¹.

“As travel planning has shifted from something you do ahead of time to something that’s possible anytime, the TripAdvisor mobile app has become the essential companion for millions of travellers,” said Stephen Kaufer, president and CEO of TripAdvisor. “Reaching the milestone of 100 million downloads is evidence that travellers worldwide are benefitting from the TripAdvisor community’s reviews and opinions, wherever their travels may take them.”

The TripAdvisor mobile app is recognised in the industry for its function and innovation. The app that was recently named “Best Mobile App” by Eye for Travel in its 2014 Innovation Awards, includes a number of features and content to help travellers plan and have the perfect trip. The free apps are available in 21 languages and are available to download at the iTunes App Store or Google Play.

Key features of the TripAdvisor app include:

·         Global content: Provides travellers with a comprehensive travel planning resource on-the-go with more than 150 million user reviews and opinions of hotels, restaurants and attractions, and over 19 million candid traveller photos, covering destinations around the globe.

·         Helpful features: Travellers on their trips can use the Near Me Now and Point Me There features to find nearby places of interest, read traveller reviews and see dynamic maps of their location.

·         Available offline: Travellers may use City Guides anywhere with no data connection required to go on self-guided walking tours, and they may also use Trip Journal to add photos or comments to capture the highlights of their trip.

·         Booking on-the-go: The TripAdvisor mobile app provides access to the site’s Hotel Price Comparison (metasearch), enabling travellers to easily compare booking options at a glance with up-to-the-minute hotel prices and availability.

While TripAdvisor launched the first iPhone and Android mobile apps in mid-2010, and the first native smartphone apps in 2013, the company continues to make improvements. Three recently launched enhancements are:

·         Type-ahead functionality for improved local results: This feature lets users quickly access more locally relevant search results based on their location.

·         Google single sign on: Allows Android users to more quickly and easily login to their TripAdvisor accounts using their Google accounts, and it also lets users automatically download the app if they have created an account on desktop.

·         See your saves on the map: This feature allows users to see places they have saved on the map with other points of interest, which helps travellers select the restaurants and attractions closest to their saved places.

¹Source: Distimo study of mobile app downloads in the travel sector for the period of 1 January, 2012 to 31 March, 2014, based on downloads and device installs.