Not using a travel app yet? Don't feel bad...

With a slew of hotel and flight booking apps hitting both iPhone and Android app stores, travelers could be forgiven for feeling like they're in the stone age when booking online.

However, new research from the US out on August 30 suggests that this shouldn't be the case - statistics show that despite the number of smartphones and travel-related apps on the market, fewer than two in ten US travelers have downloaded a travel-related app to their smartphone.

The research, conducted by tourism marketing firm Ypartnership, suggests that although travel apps are growing, they're still not mainstream.

Of the 19 percent that had downloaded a travel app, the most popular use appeared to be navigating to a destination using built-in GPS, with nearly half of respondents saying they had done this.

Forty-six percent said that they had searched for flight schedule or delay information, while 29 percent had compared airfares or hotel rates.

Only one in six of those travelers that had downloaded apps had used them to actually make a booking, said Ypartnership - so if you're the sort of person who prefers booking in front of a good old-fashioned computer, you're probably not alone.

Ypartnership surveyed over 2,500 US households in February 2010.

http://www.ypartnership.com