According to the 2014 Report of Outbound Independent Tours by Qyer.com and Chinese National Geography magazine, about 41 percent used their cellphone to research overseas travel information, with the figure being 29 percent in 2013. Among 109 million Chinese outbound travelers, more than 77 million chose independent tours.

"It's not that we just 'copy' the functions of Web products to apps. We do research to analyze why the users like our apps to enhance their experience," says Zhang Qi, vice-president of Qyer.com, a popular Chinese website for overseas travel.

Travel apps also play an important role in passing on key messages in emergencies.

On the afternoon of April 27, a massive earthquake struck Nepal, causing huge casualties and severely damaging some cultural heritage sites. Travel app companies are establishing emergency teams to contact their users in Nepal, update them with the latest information and help them return to China.

Qyer.com calculated that there are 2,743 users traveling in Nepal or planning to visit the country, based on data analysis of the apps.

According to Zhang, their users often use the apps to look for local scenic spots, restaurants and shopping centers, so they adopt Global Positioning System to help them learn about surrounding neighborhoods.