Some might presume that download rates for travel apps hit a high in the lead up to the main leisure trip periods in any given year.

For example, around June and July for Europe and North America, when families traditionally have their annual holiday.

Or perhaps at the point when the majority of bookings are made, slightly earlier in the year, when brands push their services or repeat customers come back to start the search and booking over again.

YouAppi has been monitoring download rates for a number of years, looking at 45 major travel brands such as Expedia, Hotels.com, Lyft, Skyscanner, et al.

The results are interesting, in that they fall into specific patterns but perhaps not within obvious trend lines.

In the US, say, November to February are by far and away the most popular months for travel apps.

Compare this to the UK, where September, October and February hit the top spots (the first two not being the most obvious four-weekly periods).

Fellow European country, France, has November as it’s most popular month followed by August and September – towards the end of the traditional summer break of the year.

The US’s strong showing in December and January, YouAppi says, could be due to traditionally very busy seasons (Thanksgiving and Christmas) for domestic travellers.