As I’m currently writing this, we are only days away from the start of June yet looking outside the windows of our Cheshire web design agency; it appears to be yet another wet miserable day. It's days like to today that make you want to start planning for a summer holiday.

Planning any type of trip away can start to present a number of questions and can become a frustrating experience before anything is even booked. What are the best places to visit? What time of year is best to go? What is the flight time?

Well according to statistics recorded by Google, last year saw a 50% increase in travel-related questions on mobile phones and with that number only expanding, Google have decided to introduce something to make things much smoother by releasing Google Destinations.

Join our Cheshire web design team as we document what Google Destinations is, how you can use it and what impact this may have on the travel industry.

What Is Google Destinations?

In a nutshell, Google Destinations help you discover and plan your next trip away in one easy and convenient Google search straight from your mobile phone.

Without the need of downloading or installing any apps, you simply search for a location but trigger Google Destinations by searching the keyword ‘Destinations’ at the end of your query. So for our example, we have simply searched ‘Europe Destinations’.

As you can see, Google Destinations instantly provides an overview of Dublin listing key details such as the current weather, up and coming events along with popular tourist locations. With Google Flights and Hotel search integrated into the database, Google Destinations allows you to customise and search for hotels and prices that meet your requirements in a matter of seconds.

Why Are Google Introducing Google Destinations?

It’s a good question. With more mobile searches now overtaking desktop queries, search engines and websites alike are now all competing to provide you with all that you need in one and nice and user-friendly experience without ever needing an excuse to leave.

With the industry heading into the mobile direction, this is the latest ploy by Google to link Google Destinations with other bits of functionality they have released such as Google Flights. It’s a cleaver strategy as it means Google will always be able to record data.

Another factor to consider is not all travel websites are necessarily mobile-friendly so again with the user in mind, this will make the experience as easy as possible.

Example of Dublin when searching 'Europe Destinations'

Key Google Destinations Features

• Offers destination ideas for the more vague search
• Easily filter destinations by length of stay and time of year for instant travel and flight prices
• Embedded travel guide videos provided from YouTube
• Top tourist recommendations with reviews and images included
• Recommended itinerary suggestions for tourists who may want to travel further a field
• Additional Information such as peak travel times, population and temperature during all months of the year

Ongoing Google Destinations Developments

After its original roll-out in early march, Google Destinations is still firmly in ongoing developments. When first testing out the functionality, I was amazed to see that it never worked when searching “New York Destinations”, yet did for “Canada Destinations” so it may not be an ideal travel guide if you are searching for a lesser-known travel destination.

Let’s face it, the UK loves a bargain and if they can save a few quid they will! Google Destinations may not always have the cheapest or last minute flights on hand so I would always recommend searching elsewhere if you know you can get flights cheaper on another website.

Other online holiday makers such as Airbnb who offer unique, private recommendations will again feature on Google Destinations so if you are looking for particular accommodation, again alternative websites may be your best option.

Google Destinations Summary

Overall, this is an excellent starting point to search for travel destinations and total price estimates in a matter of seconds. By combining additional information such as itineraries, recommendations and access to Google Flights and Hotel search, this really is a superb all-in-one travel planning tool.