On a map, Malaysia looks like two open palms. To the west is peninsular Malaysia – the southernmost part of continental Asia – and to the east are the states of Sabah and Sarawak. Bring these hands together and you have a nation of 30 million people and Yelp’s 31st international market.
That’s right. Malaysia is now part of the Yelp family!
Malaysia has a long, proud history and to this day remains a magnet for a wide variety of ethnic groups, cultures, and religions. With lots of influence from Malay, Chinese, Indian, Thai, Javanese, and Sumatran cultures – not to mention over 130 different languages – Malaysia is southeast Asia’s melting pot.
Malaysia’s diversity doesn’t stop with culture. It is home to nearly 20 percent of the world’s animal species, making it one of the most biodiverse countries in the world. Many of these animals can be found in the Taman Negara rainforest, which is thought to be 75 million years older than the Amazon!
If you have diverse tastes, there’s never a dull bite in Malaysia. Choose a classic laksa or go for the festive favourite – rendang. You can grab eggs and toast at a kopitiam, or scarf down roti canai from a mamak.
Yelp Malaysia kicks off in the country’s largest city and home of the famed Petronas Towers, in Kuala Lumpur, and people all over the country can now begin to search for their favorite businesses on Yelp.
Here are some quick facts about Yelp:
- Yelp was founded in 2004 to help people find great local businesses like dentists, hair stylists, and mechanics.
- Yelp had an average of approximately 135 million monthly unique visitors in Q4 2014.
- To date, Yelpers have written over 71 million local reviews.
- In addition to reviews, you can use Yelp to find events, lists and to talk with other Yelpers.
- Yelp uses automated software to recommend the most helpful and reliable reviews for the Yelp community among the millions we get. The software looks at dozens of different signals, including various measures of quality, reliability, and activity on Yelp.
- The Weekly Yelp brings locals updates on the latest and greatest business openings and other happenings.
Miriam Warren, Yelp’s Vice President of New Markets, said the Yelp app and website were a great fit for Malaysia’s highly connected citizens.
She said, “Malaysians have over 40 million mobile devices and the vast majority of the country uses social networks regularly. Given they are so digitally savvy, we know they’re going to love using Yelp to find great local businesses.”
How does it work, really? To summarise:
Wanna give it a shot?
Download the Yelp app or hit up Yelp.my to discover the diversity of Malaysia’s melting pot 😉
