The information board about "Rumah Sementara" from the Dr Sun Yat Sen and His Comrades in Ipoh Trail is one of the few information boards with multiple languages and QR code in Ipoh Old Town. — Photos by RONNIE CHIN and ANNABELLE LAWRENCE/The Star
ASK any local and they will tell you that Ipoh is awash with visitors, both locals and foreigners, especially during the weekends.
All the popular tourist spots and eateries are jam-packed, and it is not uncommon to hear people speaking in various languages congregating at heritage sites or tucking into bowls of steaming kai see hor fan (chicken kuey teow soup).
And this is borne out by the data, as 3,611,385 people visited the Silver State between January and June. The state has targeted eight million visitors as part of the Visit Perak Year 2024 campaign.
This represents a significant 72% increase compared to the same period last year, according to Perak tourism committee chairman Loh Sze Yee.
“We had 2,099,335 visitors during the same period in 2023,” said Loh, adding that the figures, compiled by Tourism Perak and local authorities, did not include data from hotel stays, indicating a broader scope of tourism interest.
However, the influx of both foreign and domestic tourists has given rise to several initial challenges.
Foreign visitors have reported issues with communication, navigating the city, and understanding information that is predominantly available only in Bahasa Malaysia (BM) or, in some cases Chinese.
These teething problems highlight areas that need improvement to make Perak more tourist-friendly.
Public parks in Ipoh, which are popular with tourists looking for rest and recreation, have signboards only in BM.Foreign visitors who spoke to StarMetro said while they found the former tin mining town charming and the food delightful, some improvements could make their visit even better.
Sheeba Dinakaran, 58, from Kerala, India, said she and her family were left grappling because many of the information boards in the city were only in BM.
“Ipoh is quite peaceful and less crowded. However, we don’t understand some of the signboards as these are written only in BM.
“This has left us without access to information on the historical background of a particular site or activity, since there’s very little written in English,” said Sheeba, who visited Ipoh with her husband Manu Sreenivasan, 63, and daughter Vasihnavi, 29.
“I feel adequate information should be made available to foreign tourists visiting historical buildings and heritage sites.
“For example, we visited a cave here and found no information in English about the cave’s history,” she said, adding that more sites, including public parks in the city, should be tourist-friendly.
“I would like to understand what I am seeing, not just look at pictures and leave,” she added.
Bus travel in Perak requires a Touch N’ Go card, which many tourists don’t know about. Tourists say more information on where to buy the cards should be made available.
Some locations like heritage caves and places like the city centre and Lorong Panglima, popularly known as Concubine Lane, have banners and information boards only in Chinese, as they are mainly geared towards that market. But this leaves other tourists confused and lost.
Sheeba also found communication to be a bit of an issue with the locals.
“The people here are very friendly, but we had trouble making ourselves understood.
“At some places we went to, especially Chinese restaurants, the staff could not understand us, perhaps due to our accent.
“It was a bit challenging but manageable. Maybe if we stay here longer, they would be able to understand us,” she said in jest.
Vasihnavi commented on the items for sale at Concubine Lane, which she said were quite pricey and perhaps targeted at tourists.
“I bought a bag for RM89, which I felt was quite expensive. It was pricier than those I later found in a shopping mall.”
French tourist Abras (right) and Hatiou also face challenges in understanding some of the signboards.
Manu said they had trouble navigating the transportation system in the city as they did not know they required a Touch n’ Go (TnG) card to ride the bus.
“Many tourists were not aware that they needed the card to travel by bus.
“We were asked to disembark from a bus because we didn’t have the card,” he said.
“I feel there isn’t enough information to explain this to us, even if we tried to look for it online.
“I think the cards should be made available more easily and information on their use posted at bus stops,” added Manu.
He suggested that transport companies have a limited-day travel pass for tourists that could be bought online.
French tourists Violette Abras, 23, and Emma Ben Hatiou, 25, also faced challenges with understanding some signboards.
Tourists from Kerala on a short getaway to Ipoh. (From left) Manu, Sheeba and Vasihnavi.
“We have difficulties understanding the signboards at some tourist spots, but we managed to Google them,” said Abras, adding that they also found it difficult checking for restaurant operation times.
“We arrived in the afternoon and to our dismay, found that quite a number of shops were closed,” she added.
A local tourist from Kedah, Ummu Hani Abdul Aleem Sidek, 32, appreciated the calm environment of the city.
“I feel the prices in Ipoh are much cheaper and quite reasonable.
“It is also much calmer here, but as a female solo traveller, it can be a bit daunting since the streets are empty, especially at night, in certain areas,” she said.
Turkish tourist, Saliha Atalar, 40, admired Ipoh’s old buildings.
The HSBC building, built in 1931 and featuring Neo-Renaissance architecture, is one of the many beautiful buildings in Ipoh that tourists find attractive.
“The buildings here are older and have interesting colonial architecture compared to the new designs of buildings in Putrajaya.
“They are also very colourful, and it feels so peaceful here,” she said, adding that there were many foreign tourists from China and India.
“I really like the friendliness and multicultural nature of the people.
“But finding parking here is a challenge. Other than that, it is wonderful here,” she added.
