Second rebirth: Ipoh reawakens to its tourism ambitions

Malaysian town banks on its rich cultural heritage, vibrant cafe scene and natural beauty to overturn retirement haven label

- Hazlin Hassan

Singaporean Chan Wai Hoe used to take the bus to visit his parents in Ipoh once every two to three months, but now he hops on a direct flight which takes only about an hour.

"It saves time. Taking the overnight bus is tiring, and it takes six to eight hours (to get) from Singapore to Ipoh," the 44-year-old lecturer told The Straits Times.

The capital of Perak, some 200km north of Kuala Lumpur, is seeing hordes of visitors and tourists, especially on weekends, thanks partly to direct flights from Singapore.

Flights between Singapore and Ipoh were first operated by the former Tigerair Singapore in May 2015, and subsequently by Scoot from July 2017, following Scoot's merger with Tigerair Singapore.

AirAsia also began flying this route in November 2018.

AirAsia doubled its average weekly frequencies from four flights to eight in 2024, while Scoot tripled its average weekly flights from six to 18. Today, there are 10 daily flights by Scoot and AirAsia, according to Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB).

Efforts are being made by the state, community and businesses to breathe new life into the historical and multicultural enclave that has long been known as a retirement haven.

About 30 to 50 per cent of visitors are from Singapore, making up the largest foreign tourist group, Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH) Perak chapter chairman Tony Wong told ST.

A two-hour express train service from Kuala Lumpur to Ipoh, which started in August, shaves around 40 minutes off the usual travel time and is expected to pull in more visitors.

The authorities are bullish about Ipoh as a hip tourist destination.

After all, it is Visit Perak Year 2024. The state is eyeing eight million domestic and 350,000 international tourists in 2024, compared with some 7.5 million domestic and 867,665 international visitors the year before.