Grab recently announced in-app travel innovations and partnerships with an aim of providing travelers with a safe, seamless, and hyperlocal experience. As international tourist visits to Southeast Asia saw an increase of 1,706% in 2022 compared to the previous year, Grab has observed a steady rebound in traveler numbers, with rides to and from airports growing 3x between January and December 2022.
According to Grab’s data, Southeast Asians love to travel within the region, as 40% of international travelers using Grab in the Philippines are from other Southeast Asian countries. Moreover, the data also shows that the top Southeast Asian countries preferred by Philippine Grab users are Singapore, Thailand, and Malaysia. Outside of SEA, the top source markets for travelers using Grab regionally include North America, Australia, China, and South Korea.
Grab’s enhanced travel experience empower all travelers to plan ahead, get a smooth ride the moment they touch down, and experience their destination like a local. With the new innovations and partnerships, Grab ensures that travelers can explore their destination with confidence and assurance.
New App Enhancements Include:
Traveller Homepage
Grab’s latest data reveals that a whopping 66% of travelers who utilize the superapp download and register for an account before even embarking on their journey. To assist these travelers in their planning, Grab has launched the Traveller Homepage, which allows overseas visitors to explore their destination city within the Grab app.
This feature is available in 33 of the most popular tourist cities in Southeast Asia and provides users access to Grab services, the ability to search and save places of interest, including accommodations and landmarks, and even scope out the local culinary scene in advance.
The Grab app now available in more languages
The Grab app is now available in Chinese, Korean, and Japanese languages to deliver an intuitive experience for travelers from these key markets.
Translated Merchant Menus (Ready by H2 2023)
Grab is making it easier for travelers to explore local cuisine by translating merchant menus in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand into English. For Chinese travelers, Grab will offer Chinese menu translations in key Indonesian cities.
Revamped Venues Experience
Finding your way in an unfamiliar and bustling airport to find the right pick-up spot can be an intimidating experience. Fortunately, the latest version of Venues shows photos of every pick-up location and also uses image-based directions, letting you confidently navigate your way to your ride well in advance of booking. Venues is available at all major Southeast Asian airports and over 4,000 other locations, including hotspots like the Singapore Zoo, Pattaya’s floating market, and Jakarta’s National Monument.
Currency Converter (Ready by H2 2023)
The app will be able to automatically display fares in the traveller’s preferred local currency, eliminating the need to do manual conversions.
Access Grab services through apps you’re already familiar with
For travelers who don’t want to clutter their phone with another app, Grab has also partnered with several popular platforms to provide seamless access to its ride-hailing services in Southeast Asia. WeChat, AliPay, Ctrip, Kakao T, and Booking.com, visitors can access Grab’s services without the need for an additional app. With this integration, users can select their pickup and drop-off points, view the available vehicle types, see the estimated fare in their home currency, and use their preferred payment method within these apps.
Starting Q2 2023, Uber users will receive a prompt on the app when in Southeast Asia, encouraging them to use Grab as their preferred mode of transportation in the region.
Back to travel with GrabUnlimited
Grab also unveiled an exclusive offer for its GrabUnlimited subscription plan, which gives subscribers access to discounted airport rides at 89 airports across Southeast Asia. In the Philippines, GrabUnlimited members can save up to 15 percent on rides to their destination. If they travel to other countries in Southeast Asia, they can still enjoy discounted airport rides. Grab urges frequent users to sign up for GrabUnlimited, which is free for the first month and then renews at Php 49 per month.
Emman has been writing technical and feature articles since 2010. Prior to this, he became one of the instructors at Asia Pacific College in 2008, and eventually landed a job as Business Analyst and Technical Writer at Integrated Open Source Solutions for almost 3 years.
