Travel Talk: Conversations with Experts
Julia Loughran, Travel Apps – Getting the Most Out of Your Next Trip 

Julia Loughran, Travel Apps: Getting the most out of your next trip 

Julia Loughran is an energizing and knowledgeable speaker, adviser, and teacher. She connects people, products, and ideas in remarkable and effective ways. She was the president and owner of Thoughtlink, an avid world traveler, and teaches a very popular class called “Travel Apps: Getting the most out of your next trip.”

What Travel Apps Does Julia Loughran Recommend?

Sara: Hi Julia! Thanks for sharing your expert advice on the most useful apps out there and all things app-related. Please tell us how you became so knowledgeable about the topic of Travel Apps.

JULIA: Hi Sara. Thanks for having me.  I guess my experience with Travel Apps goes back almost 20 years when I started teaching Seniors in Northern Virginia about computers, cell phones, and helpful websites.  That, combined with my husband’s and my love of travel.  I started teaching the Travel Apps class for seniors at UNC-Asheville’s College about 8 years ago.  I was having so much fun teaching it, that my husband Wiley begged me to let him co-teach it with me.  We’ve been having fun teaching it ever since.

SARA: How are travel apps most benefiting travelers?

JULIA: There are literally 100s if not 1000s of travel apps and they can help in so many ways – making your trip smoother and less stressful, organizing itineraries, alerting you of good flights and other travel deals, helping you converse in foreign languages and even helping you find a last-minute hotel room.

SARA: Have you noticed any interesting trends or developments in the Travel App industry?

JULIA: One interesting thing is how many of the apps you might think are owned by different companies are actually owned by the same entity. For instance, the Expedia Brand owns Hotwire, Travelocity, Orbitz, Hotels.com, and many more.  The other big player is the Priceline Group.  They own Kayak, OpenTable, Booking.com, and more.  Each of these umbrella organizations has annual assets of over $17 billion!

SARA: Besides functional apps that help with bookings, reservations, and navigation, what do you believe are the most useful Travel Apps out there and why?

JULIA: My favorite travel app is TripIt.Com – it helps integrate all of your travel details into an organized, digitized file.  What I think we all used to do was print out all the reservations and carry the manilla file with us.  A similar app to TripIt is TripCase – but, I haven’t tried this app yet.  I also love trip idea sites – like Google Travel where you can save ideas for places to visit.  Some other sites I really love are GasBuddy to find cheap gas, Alltrails to find a place to hike, and MyPostcard to send loved ones an actual postcard from the places you visited – complete with your own photos.

SARA: I know you just returned from Mexico City and I’m curious if you used any Travel Apps on that trip that surprised you or that you found particularly useful.

JULIA: Google Translate was so useful.  We had a driver on the trip who spoke English and he had us to his home to do a cooking class.  By using the conversation mode of Google Translate, I was able to not only converse with his wife (who spoke zero English), but I also felt like I became her friend.  Now that is an impressive app.

SARA: What do you see in the future of Travel App development?

JULIA: I think there will be more consolidation – companies buying travel apps and more in the areas of using Artificial Intelligence to tailor trips for you.

SARA: Is there anything you wished I asked or something else you’d like to add about your experiences with Travel Apps and our conversation? 

JULIA: I loved your questions and I have so much to share it is hard to get it all down in one sitting – so let’s plan to do this again soon.

Thanks Julia! I want to thank you for your time, expertise and joining me for Travel Talk: Conversations with Experts. This was Julia Loughran on the topic of Travel Apps and getting the most out of your next trip.

Thanks, Julia! I want to thank you for your time and expertise, and for joining me for Travel Talk: Conversations with Experts. This was Julia Loughran on the topic of Travel Apps and getting the most out of your next trip.

Now, stop scrolling and get the most out of your next trip by downloading some helpful Travel Apps!

Now, stop scrolling and get the most out of your trip by downloading some helpful travel Apps!