UOB is aiming to ease the tedious process of journey planning for Malaysian travellers with its launch of The Travel Insider. Touted to be the first online travel marketplace to be designed by a bank, The Travel Insider prides itself as a one-stop travel platform where you can easily search, plan, and book your trips.

“Travel is a high priority among our customers, with one in five UOB Malaysia debit and credit cardmembers travelling abroad at least once in 2019. We have also seen a shift in the way our customers plan and book their travels, with 81% of their travel-related spend last year taking place online, a 34% increase from the previous year,” said UOB managing director and country head of Personal Financial Services, Ronnie Lim.

Drawing from the services and knowledge of more than 500 leading companies from the airline, hospitality, and travel industries, the site offers a comprehensive set of services. It features functions such as flight bookings, accommodation recommendations, and tour deals, as well as travel itineraries, travel guides, and tips.

Navigation in the site is made easier as it taps into the familiar user interfaces from Agoda, Expedia, Booking.com, and Singapore Airlines to offer the best hotel and flight options. You can also make use of the in-built planning tool, where you can create and save your itinerary to share with your travel buddies for planning purposes.

Additionally, The Travel Insider features various deals – ranging from accommodation and restaurant discounts to activities and shopping rebates – although most are exclusive to UOB cardholders. So, if you’re a UOB cardmember, remember to tap into the discounts to sweeten your holiday experience. That said, non-UOB cardmembers looking to book their flights and accommodation from the site will still able to do so with other cards.

Unlike other travel websites and platforms, however, The Travel Insider is fairly focused in its coverage. UOB selected the content of its travel marketplace based on data collected from its customers’ card spend and the partners involved in this collaboration. The page is highly curated – it features 24 travel destinations most popular with its customers – such as France, Germany, and Iceland.

The platform also caters for the present-day traveller’s preference for authentic local experiences, inviting 29 local influencers from its shortlisted destinations to provide personal insights of their home cities. If you like travelling like a local, then you’re in luck!

The Travel Insider was first launched in Singapore two years ago. Since then, it has reported a monthly traffic of close to 25,000 unique visitors to the site, which UOB took to be an encouraging enough sign to expand the marketplace to its customers in Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand.

• TAGS:
• Ronnie Lim
• The Travel Insider
• UOB
• UOB Malaysia