Thanks to a new initiative spearheaded by Grab in Southeast Asia, revenge traveling is set to become so much easier.
Grab, one of the leading lifestyle apps in Southeast Asia, has announced new in-app travel technologies and partnerships to provide users with a secure, seamless, and hyperlocal experience as the region’s tourism industry experiences a renaissance.
In 2022, there was a 1,706% rise from the previous year in the number of international tourists that visited Southeast Asia. Grab’s airport trips increased threefold between January and December 2022, reflecting a general uptick in passenger counts.
Grab aspires to be at the vanguard of Southeast Asia’s travel rebirth. Group Managing Director of Operations Russell Cohen says the company is on track to do so. Grab has improved its service in the region in order to make returning visitors’ trips more pleasant.
Southeast Asians enjoy travelling throughout the region. More than half of all Grab users who are not from Southeast Asia are tourists from the region. North America, Australia, China, and South Korea are among the biggest source markets for Grab users coming from outside of Southeast Asia.
By enabling customers to prepare in advance, obtain a seamless ride the instant they land, and enjoy the place like a local, Grab’s upgraded travel experience was made to provide all travellers the assurance and confidence to explore their destination.
New Grab App Enhancements
Almost two-thirds of tourists who use Grab do so from their home country, where they also download the app and set up an account. With the new Traveller Homepage, international visitors to the Grab app can virtually tour a city before they arrive, improving their ability to prepare for their trip. Grab is a ride-sharing service that operates in 33 of the most popular tourist destinations in Southeast Asia. The app also lets users look up and save locations of interest, like their hotel and attractions they plan to see, and search for nearby restaurants.
Chinese, Korean, and Japanese versions of the Grab app have been released to better serve the growing number of visitors to Southeast Asia from these three countries.
Grab is focusing on translating merchant menus in important locations across Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand into English to enable travellers discover the greatest local flavours around them. In addition, to cater to the influx of returning Chinese tourists, Grab will offer Chinese menu transitions in important Indonesian cities.
Navigating through a bustling, unfamiliar airport to find the right pick-up place and ride may be a stressful process for passengers. With the latest version of Venues, travellers can view photographs of each pickup point before choosing one and get image-based turn-by-turn walking directions to help them even before booking their ride. The Venues function, which is available at all major airports in Southeast Asia, can also be utilised at over 4,000 venues around the region, including prominent tourist attractions such as the Singapore Zoo, the floating market in Pattaya, and the National Monument in Jakarta.
Accessing Grab Services Through Familiar Apps
Use Grab’s services with the apps you’re already familiar with. If you’d rather not have to download yet another app, you can still take advantage of Grab’s ride-hailing services throughout Southeast Asia thanks to partnerships with some of the most popular apps in the world. Riders in Southeast Asia who use WeChat, AliPay, Ctrip, Kakao T, or Booking.com can also utilise Grab’s ride-hailing services. They’ll be able to choose a pickup and drop-off location, view all of the vehicle options in their area, and get a quote in their local currency. Within those apps, they can also use their preferred mode of payment.
