Let?s Go has rolled out apps for five cities that help travelers find deals on accommodations.

The new Let?s Go apps for the iPhone are based on the popular travel guidebook series for young adult travelers that is written entirely by college students. The cities include New York, Paris, London, Rome and Amsterdam.

?The mobile space is a natural fit for Let?s Go,? said Nan Forte, CEO  at Travora Media, New York.

?According to the World Youth Student and Educational Travel Confederation and NAFSA.org, young travelers are one of the fastest growing segments of the travel industry accounting for 160 million travelers, 20 percent of all international arrivals and a global market worth $136 billion dollars per year,? she said.

Budget-conscious travelers
The Let's Go apps are available for free download in Apple's App Store.

This is Let's Go's first foray into mobile.

The apps are updated dynamically by college students while they are at a particular destination with the goal of providing information that makes traveling more affordable and fun for budget-conscious young travelers.

Users can share their location with Facebook friends, get recommendations for affordable sights and activities, find restaurants, clubs, bars, shops and hotels as well as use GPS mapping and a bookmark function to plan their trip. The app also includes a recommended itinerary for each city.

The apps also work in an offline mode to save travelers international roaming and connection costs.

Live streaming is available for those with global data plans.

The apps are being promoted on the Let?s Go Web site, in bi-weekly emails sent to the Let?s Go subscriber base and via Let?s Go?s social channels on Facebook and Twitter. 

Upon launching the Let?s Go city app, users choose from six categories including, about, listings, neighborhoods, our picks, free stuff and best of.

In the Listings section, users can map a listing, bookmark it or share it. Filters can be used to narrow search results by a variety of options.

Travel is a robust area of mobile marketing and a natural fit as travelers are on-the-go consumers looking for easy access to information that can make their trip more enjoyable. From state tourism bureaus to major airlines and hotel chains to publishers, many brands want to be able to reach travelers via their smartphones.

The Let?s Go apps were developed by Travora Media and Harvard Student Agencies Inc., which publishes the Let?s Go guide books.

?According to a Ball State University study, College students are the fastest growing segment of smart phone users doubling in the past year and over index for smart phones against the average population,? Ms. Forte siad. ?This is Let?s Go?s first foray into the mobile marketplace and, as a start, five separate cities and apps are being released with more to come.?

Final Take
Chantal Tode is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York