Why Grab wants to be the go-to app for SEA tourists

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More than three years after the Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to a standstill, the World Health Organization last week ended the global emergency status for the virus. But even before this announcement, it seems many have already adapted to the threat of living with the disease.

Tourism in Southeast Asia has been on the road to recovery well before this development. It has been more than a year since borders fully reopened in Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.

While the revival in tourism was off to a slow start, it is gradually picking up pace after China – the largest source of inbound travelers to Southeast Asia – dropped its travel restrictions in January. However, the industry still has some ways to go to reach pre-pandemic levels of demand.

That hasn’t stopped Grab from positioning itself to benefit from the rebound in inbound tourism. The food delivery and ride-hailing giant unveiled a slew of new features catering to tourists, who spend twice what locals do on transport per day, according to the firm.

Today’s featured piece breaks down how the Singapore-based company is leveraging its range of services to become the go-to app for folks traveling to Southeast Asian countries. The story also details how these initiatives will impact Grab’s balance sheet.

Today we look at:

• Grab’s strategy for the rebound in SEA’s tourism sector
• Singapore-headquartered Buymed’s US$51.5 million fundraise
• Other newsy highlights such as Indonesian e-grocery firm Tumbasin filing for bankruptcy and Binance resuming Bitcoin withdrawals

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Part of the itinerary

Image credit: Timmy Loen

According to Grab, two-thirds of travelers who use the app download it while they are still in their home country. I’m certainly part of this group, having downloaded it well before arriving in Bali last year. I even took time to familiarize myself with the app before traveling.

As we analyze the host of tourism-focused features that the super app has recently launched, it becomes clear that Grab is attempting to go above and beyond to provide a seamless experience for international travelers.

• For the pre-planners: Grab has rolled out a “Traveller Homepage” feature that lets users explore their destination within the app, allowing them to look at food options and determine ride fares. The app will have tourist data on 33 Southeast Asian cities.
• Eliminating language barriers: The firm aims to provide English translations of menus for food establishments in Indonesia, Vietnam, and Thailand by mid-2023. It also looks to roll out Chinese translations of menus in Indonesian restaurants.
• Key element: While the region’s tourism sector is slowly recovering, it is still far from reaching pre-pandemic levels. For instance, Thailand expects to welcome over 30 million visitors this year, which is about a fourth lower than its 2019 high. This drop can be attributed to the lower number of Chinese tourists visiting the kingdom.

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