Have you seen the growing tourism market of Dubai?
People from all over the world are travelling to Dubai to explore its popular attractions, experience the lifestyle and world-class cuisines. In this, the app Visit Dubai has become a trustworthy travel companion for tourists.
It is an excellent idea to develop an app like Visit Dubai to offer tourists a personalised travel experience in the heart of the UAE.
Do you want to invest in such powerful and user-centric apps? Then you must know about its market, cost of development and other things that will make the app development journey easy.
We have broken down everything in this article. Continue till the end to gather complete information.
What is the Visit Dubai App?
Visit Dubai is the app that helps first-time visitors prepare an itinerary and explore Dubai without any challenges. All in all, the app acts as a personal travel guide for tourists in Dubai by recommending places to visit, booking tours, restaurants, and more.
The app can access the real-time location of users to offer personalised services, plan events, etc. Users can also unlock exciting deals and offers through the Visit Dubai app, which makes it more exciting for them.
Moreover, the app works according to the interests and tastes of the user to offer ideal hotel stay options. The app also offers the feature of a currency converter to make it easy for tourists to make financial transactions.
The app syncs as per the calendar of Dubai and gives real-time updates to the users about everything happening in the city. Thus, by creating a travel app like Visit Dubai, businesses can offer a luxurious experience to tourists with best-in-class hospitality.
Market Stats about Travel Apps in UAE
We have some interesting statistics that will strengthen the above reasons to create your own travel app in Dubai. Moreover, this data will help you to make an app like Visit Dubai confidently.
The key statistics are mentioned below.
- The size of the Global Travel and Tourism Apps Market was $650.7 billion in the year 2024. This size is expected to grow at the rate of 18.50% between the years 2025 to 2034. Which means by the year 2034, the Global Travel and Tourism Apps Market size will be $3,552.7 billion.
- The business travel market in the UAE has witnessed revenue growth of US$54,035.2 million in the year 2024. Further, it was expected that by the year 2030, the same market would reach US$94,056.4 million at a CAGR of 8.8% between 2025-2030.
- So, between the year 2025 to 2030, the UAE business travel market is expected to grow at a rate of 8.8%.
- In the year 2024, specifically, the solo travellers generated the largest revenue for the UAE business travel market.
Why Build a Travel App Like Visit Dubai?
If you want to step into the booming tourism market of Dubai, it is a good idea to develop an app like Visit Dubai. Moreover, people all over the world depend on their smartphones for everything from booking flights to accommodation and more.
With an app like Visit Dubai, people don’t have to keep several apps for different uses; one app will be enough to streamline their travel planning in Dubai. We have explained how apps like Visit Dubai offer benefits for both visitors and businesses.
♦ Offer the Best User Experience
The travellers or the users can use the app like Visit Dubai to plan their trip effectively and easily. The app offers users to book a flight, accommodation, and suggest places of activity.
The app also offers a map feature that helps users get guidance to explore the best destinations in Dubai. This app comes as a solution for tourists to have the best travel experience.
♦ Get Personalised Recommendations
Apps like Visit Dubai can access the real-time location of users and are powered by AI technology. These features in the app give personalised recommendations of places according to their interest and location.
Users will be enabled to discover nearby attractions, restaurants, leisure activities, and other things right from a single app.
♦ Monetization Benefits
When you create an app like Visit Dubai, you get the opportunity to earn a good percentage of revenue. There are various ways to earn money from travel apps.
You can ask for a commission from the hotels for every booking made through your app. You can allow running in-app advertisements by travel companies. Offer premium features on purchasing subscription plans.
♦ Personal Marketing Tool
If you invest in building an app like Visit Dubai, you are creating a marketing tool for your business. You can display the features you are offering to target users through the app and encourage them to use it.
The app will act as an excellent channel to talk about your brand and spread awareness. Moreover, the app can be used to notify your esteemed and end users about the deals, offers, sales, or discounts.
Key Features of the Visit Dubai App
If you are planning to make an app like Visit Dubai, you must be aware of its key features, which need to be considered while designing the same. Moreover, if you hire a mobile app development company in Dubai, they must know the features you want.
So, here is the list of key features that you must know to build a robust travel app like Visit Dubai.
1] User-Friendly Interface
The users of the Visit Dubai app love it because of its user-friendly interface. When people use this app, they are able to seamlessly navigate it. Its layout is clear and conscious, the menus and other features of the app can be easily navigated, and its graphics are visually attractive.
2] Map Integration
Users get to access interactive maps that are integrated into the app. The tourists are able to explore Dubai through Google Maps and Apple Maps. The best thing is that users can access its offline map feature. So, tourists can explore Dubai even without an internet connection.
3] Support Multiple Languages
Dubai is attracting people from all over the world because of its attractive places and activities. Since people from different countries visit Dubai, they speak diverse languages. So, your travel app must support multiple languages that attract diverse users.
4] Booking Feature
The app must have a booking feature that allows users to book flights, accommodation, event tickets and more. Having too many apps and juggling between them can ruin the experience for people. Your tourist can have a seamless experience if they can do everything from one app.
5] AI Recommendation
Integrate an AI-powered itinerary builder that can offer a tailored experience to tourists by planning everything for them. The travel app will collect the user data, which reads the preferences and interests of the tourists to make personalised travel plans.
6] Currency Converter
Your travel app must have a feature that can seamlessly convert the currency of tourists. Every country has their own currency and rate, which is different from Dubai. So, the currency makes it seamless for international travellers to make financial transactions.
Steps to Build an App Like Visit Dubai
Your travel app development requires you to follow a correct strategy to successfully create an app like Visit Dubai. If you choose the right app development company, then they will follow the exact steps to build an app that we have listed below.
Step 1: Learn about the Market
Before developing an app like Visit Dubai, you must have a clear understanding of the market. As part of your research, you must know your target audience first: the tourists.
You should know what your target audience is looking for and expecting in a travel app that the competitors are failing to offer.
Step 2: App Planning
After market analysis, you can easily create a plan for your travel app. Make a checklist of the features you want to incorporate into your app.
Ensure your app offers key features like booking facilities, destination guide, smooth onboarding, creating itineraries, etc. Next, select the tech stack of your app, UI/UX design and plan app costing.
Step 3: Design your App
After the initial planning, start designing your app, do the wireframing and create a prototype of your travel app. Design a simple and attractive UI or User Interface of your travel app; your travel app must be visually appealing.
Ensure your travel app is easy to navigate for your users and focus on responsive design to offer the best UX, or User Experience.
Step 4: Develop your App
In this step, you have to start the development process of your travel app, which you have planned for. Start with front-end development, where you have to choose the correct tech stack.
Choose React Native if you are focusing on cross-platform development, for native app development, choose Kotlin (Android) & Swift (iOS). For backend development, if you want scalable and fast coding, choose Node.js with Express or Nest.js.
Step 5: Testing and QA
After you’re done with the development process of your travel app, it’s time to test the whole app to ensure smooth functioning post-launch.
Check the performance, bugs and safety of the app to ensure users don’t face any issues. It is a crucial step to ensure a bug-free user experience and that the app can run smoothly on cross-platform.
Step 6: Launch the App and Keep It Updated
After you’re done with the testing, which ensures smooth functioning of your travel app, it’s time to deploy the app for use. You can launch your app on various app stores like the Google or Apple Store.
Before the launch, create a buzz about the app through its active marketing on different social media platforms and through email marketing. Further, keep your app updated and offer post-launch support to your users.
Cost to Develop an App Like Visit Dubai
So you now know how a mobile app startup in Dubai will carry out the whole development process of your travel app. But do you know how much it will cost you to develop an app like Visit Dubai? We will reveal that in this section.
On average, the cost to develop a travel app like Visit Dubai typically ranges between $20,000 and $300,000, and it can vary based on various factors. The cost to develop an app like Visit Dubai totally depends upon the project plan, features included, complexity of the development and more.
To build a basic travel app with simple features and a tech stack, it will take less time, which means the cost will be less. If you want to create a full-stack travel app with advanced features and functionalities, then it will cost you more than the maximum range.
Lead the Travel App Development Market with the Industry Experts.
Factors Affecting the Cost to Build an App Like Visit Dubai
If you want to know the exact factors that affect the mobile app development cost, then we’ve got you covered. In this section, we are going to list the factors that will decide the cost to create an app like Visit Dubai.
Let’s take a detailed look at each of them.
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Complexity of Features
There is a saying, “time is money”, which perfectly fits here, which means the more time it takes to build a feature-rich app, the cost will keep rising. If you want to build an app with basic features that doesn’t cost you much.
On the other hand, if you want to incorporate complex features like AI integration, VR, ML, etc., it will take more development time and will increase the cost.
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Design of the App
Design is a crucial element that can impress the users and make them come back for more. If you wish to develop an app like Visit Dubai, then you must focus on its design, that is it must be visually appealing and easy to navigate.
When you want to maintain high-quality design for your app, it will affect the cost of development.
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Technology Used
Technology is the prime element of any app, which decides the performance, scalability and maintenance of the travel app. So, the tech stack is the most crucial factor upon which the cost of development is dependent.
If you are developing a high-performing app like Visit Dubai, then it will be a little costly.
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The Location of the Team
The location of the development team has a heavy influence on the development cost of the travel app. The app development company in different regions sets the cost accordingly.
If you look closely, you can see that the cost of app development in offshore regions is lower than that in the local regions of the UAE.
Monetization Strategies for an App Like Visit Dubai
So, how to make money with mobile apps in Dubai?
You can earn good revenue if you build an app like Visit Dubai by turning user engagement into profit. Since tourism is booming in Dubai, a travel app will make things convenient for tourists and help earn money.
How to earn from an app like Visit Dubai? We have a list of answers to this question.
➢ Transaction Fees
You can charge a small percentage of the amount every time users make bookings or take services through the app. This will be added to the final bill when users make a payment through any third-party app.
➢ Commission on Bookings
App owners have the option to earn commission by partnering with hotels, airlines and travel agencies. You can connect with the top travel website where users can make direct reservations and bookings.
➢ Premium Subscription
You can either offer a premium subscription or a freemium subscription to the users. In freemium, users can use basic features for free, but to use more advanced features, they have to purchase a plan. Another premium subscription offers exclusive offers on services upon purchasing a specific plan.
➢ Sponsored Ads
You can earn a good revenue from allowing other companies to run ads on your apps in exchange for a minimum fee. This is a good opportunity to promote the local attractions and services of Dubai and also earn revenue.
Why Choose Nimble AppGenie?
Apps like Visit Dubai are helping tourists navigate through the city more confidently and helping the tourism to operate smoothly.
Do you want to work on your mobile app ideas? A travel app comes with a good opportunity to thrive in the growing market of Dubai tourism.
We understand app development is not an easy path, but to help you successfully build an app, Nimble AppGenie is always at your service. Our team of specialised mobile app developers will make sure to develop a high-performing travel app that stands out from the competition.
Conclusion
As tourism is increasing in Dubai, it is high time to make an investment and take a step towards growth. You can see that an app like Visit Dubai has a strong identity in Dubai’s tourism market by making holidays a cheerful experience for the tourists.
You now know about Visit Dubai, its market value, the features it offers, how to create such an app and more. So, this knowledge will help you develop an app like Visit Dubai with more unique functionalities for your target audience.
However, if you don’t know how to develop a mobile app in Dubai, Nimble AppGenie is your answer.
So, start your app development journey today.
FAQs
How much does it cost to develop an app like Visit Dubai?
The estimated cost to build an app like Visit Dubai ranges between $20,000 to $300,000, which depends on the various factors of app development. This cost is not fixed and fluctuates depending on the tech stack, features, security measures, development complexity, and compliance.
How long does it take to develop a travel app like Visit Dubai?
To develop an app like Visit Dubai, it can approximately take 4 to 9 months, which depends on the complexity of the app development process. If you want to build a simple app with basic features and technology, it will not take much time.
On the other hand, an app with advanced and smart features like AI, facial recognition, and others will take more time.
How can I monetize a travel app like Visit Dubai?
You can monetize your travel app like Visit Dubai easily, utilising smart methods, subscription plans, in-app purchases, sponsorship ads, affiliate marketing, and more. Subscription plans are a good monetising method because when users love your app and want to use the premium features, they have to buy a plan.