Dealing with Issues Pertaining to Urban Tourism in Ipoh City

This report examines the burgeoning demand for urban tourism in Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. It explores the rationale behind this growth, highlighting the city's transformation from a quiet town to a bustling tourist destination. The research aims to raise awareness, provide insightful information, and analyze the demand for urban tourism. The literature review discusses Ipoh's history, geographical features, and the impact of tourism on the local economy. The report details the positive outcomes of urban tourism, including urbanization, globalization, business strategies, cultural exchange, and economic upscaling. It identifies factors that contribute to tourism, such as historical sites, beautiful scenery, and cultural acceptance. The research uses questionnaires to gather firsthand information from respondents. The report emphasizes the positive effects of urban tourism on the city's development, offering a comprehensive overview of the subject.

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Urban Tourism Demand Being Experienced in Ipoh city
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THE DEMAND FOR URBAN TOURISM IN THE CITY IPOH, PERAK, MALAYSIA
Rationale
Urban tourism has proved beyond any reasonable doubt to be among the major activities
taking place in different parts of the world where it has been slowly gaining popularity over the
past years (Rasoolimanesh, et al. 2017). On the other hand, it can be best described in terms of
quite a number of tourist activities where a particular city acts as the major destination and at the
same time a place of interest. Basically, there are quite a number of reasons that have led to the
demand for urban tourism in this modern world. This research focuses on the demand for tourism
that is being experienced in the city Ipoh, Perak, Malaysia. Ipoh is one of the major known cities
that is located in the Northwestern part of Malaysia. Over the past, there has been a rising
situation concerning the demand for urban tourism within this particular area and this has been
due to several factors that are being experienced within the surrounding environment (Omar,
Sakip and Akhir 2016). Ipoh, that once appeared to be a dull city with a minimal number of
activities among its occupants is currently bustling with a huge number of tourists originating
from all over the world. Their major intention has always been to encounter and experiences the
beautiful nature that is present within the boundaries of Ipoh (Sanmargaraja and Wee 2015). On
the other hand, quite a number of the back-alleys present within Ipoh that were once polluted are
currently are now one of the overpopulated flea market areas and have even gone further to be
used as food haunts for different personalities (Rasoolimanesh et al. 2017). All these activities
are as a result of urban tourism that has ended up bringing quite a number of positive outcomes
to the lives of the local residents together with the economy at large.

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Aims of the Research
The entire research aims towards attaining a number of issues that are related to its area
of study. The following are some of the aims that are attached to the research;
Creating awareness across various individuals and organizations regarding the demand for urban
tourism in Ipoh.Providing relevant and reliable information that can be easily understood by
quite a number of individuals most so the ones interested in issues dealing with urban tourism.
Objectives of the research
The research is supported by different objectives to ensure that its relevance is
maintained at an all-time right from the beginning of the study up to the very end. Its major
objective is to carry out a deep analysis of the demand for urban tourism in the city of Ipoh.

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Literature Review
Aforementioned, Urban tourism plays one of the most essential roles in different
economies across the world (Jasmi and Mohamad 2016). Ipoh is a well-recognized capital city of
Perak that is located approximately two hundred and five Kilometers North of a place well
known as Kuala. It is a city that fully lies on the river banks of a particular river that is always
referred to as the Kinta river. What is more interesting about this city is that quite a number of its
occupants are known to have come from the Chinese origin while the other remaining races
which mainly include the Indians and the Malays (Tan, Olanrewaju and Lee 2016). As far as
history is concerned, one of the early settlements within the boundaries of Ipoh is known to have
existed in the early 1800s where the expansion of the city has always been experienced across
the Kinta river over the past years. Additionally, the river has divided Ipoh city into two different
sections which constitute of both the old town and the new town (Harun, Mansor and Said 2015).
The old town has always been recognized as a place that constitutes of different types of
historical buildings that were able to come up during the British colonial eras in the olden days.
On the other hand, the new town has mainly been covered by commercial centers, various food
outlets, and even hotels.
Geographically, Ipoh city is known to be located in a valley that is surrounded by one of
the most famous Titiwangsa mountain range which further extends towards the eastern side of
the city (Rahman, Hasshim and Rozali 2015). At the same time, there is the Klendang mountain
range which fully stretches from the north towards the western side. The interesting panoramic
view of both the hills and the mountains appears to be a beautiful scenery that can always be
viewed right from the city center (Leh et al. 2017) These are some of the geographical factors

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that have been able to put the issue of urban tourism at the forefront of this city where it has gone
further to scale up the entire town to greater levels.
Importance of Urban Tourism demand in the city of Ipoh
According to this research, the demand for urban tourism in Ipoh has brought with it
quite a number of positive outcomes that have been felt far and wide among different
populations of individuals (Rahmanian et al. 2015). The following are some of the positive
contributions of urban tourism demand within the area;
 The emergence of Urbanization together with Globalization- Universally, an
approximation of forty-six percent of the entire population of the world clearly
constitutes of urban individuals and due to this, it is clearly estimated that come 2030, the
entire percentage shall have risen to sixty-one percent (Azmi, Ahmad and Ali 2015). As a
matter of fact, it is quite essential for the urban people to have a deep understanding that
their respective places will be shared by tourists either at the present time or in the
coming years (Ismail, Leh and Zaki 2017). Globalization, on the other hand, has been
able to provide employment opportunities for the residents living within the city of Ipoh
thereby giving them a perfect opportunity to earn a living. Additionally, it has also been
able to fully support both the exports and imports taking place within the city thereby
increasing different levels of income opportunities.
 Urban Tourism as a form of Business Strategy- Tourism industry within Ipoh city has
been able to demand quite a number of investments with an intention of attracting
visitors. Furthermore, this has led to the marketing and selling of the city's picture that
most of the tourists would love to see (Taylor, Maurice and Edmund 2015). This form of

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business has been able to further strengthen the economic status of the entire city thereby
giving it an easy time to carry out most of the important activities.
 Cultural impact- Urban tourism has brought about cultural tourism within the area, this
has led to the exchange of culture with different types of cultures that are originating
from different regions of the world. This has therefore emerged as a matter of pride for
all the local residents when it comes to exchanging their cultures with different
individuals (Khoo and Badarulzaman 2014). Due to this, they feel proud and strongly
bounded to their originalities. The locals too have been able to view cultural tourism in
two different positive perspectives; the first one involves providing the host with a
perfect opportunity to be able to encounter different types of cultures which further leads
to an act of understanding across various personalities, therefore, an increased condition
of tolerance levels. Secondly, when the localities clearly present their respective cultures
and even talk more about their culture in their own perspectives, they feel that they are
strongly attached to their ethnic origins together with their grounds right from their point
of origin.
 Scaling up of the economy- Urban tourism has been able to boost the entire economy of
the city thus taking it to the next level (Khair et al. 2015). For a perfect understanding of
economic impact brought about by urban tourism, it is very essential to consider the
following aspects being encountered within the city; the flow of different types of tourists
in the city, the local economic development that is being experienced within the city and
finally the type of economy that the city is capable of persisting which include things like
the private or even mixed type of economy (Muzaini 2015). The economy has always
been scaled up to the next level through a constant generation of income that ends up

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benefiting the local members in terms of various aspects like the development of
infrastructure. Besides, it has also led to a fair balance being experienced between
different types of economic activities and the city itself. New jobs to have been created
among different individuals thereby giving them a perfect opportunity to strengthen the
economic status of their city.
Factors that led to the emergence of Urban tourism in the city of Ipoh
There are different factors that led to the emergence of urban tourism in the city of Ipoh,
all these factors have enabled Ipoh city to move from a humble position to a more advanced
status where it is being recognized by a huge population across the world. The following are
some of the factors that greatly contributed to the emergence of urban tourism within the area;
 Historical sites- The historical sites that are present within the boundaries of Ipoh city,
specifically the old buildings that were made during the colonial era has greatly attracted
the attention of quite a number of tourists across the world. Many of them have been
coming to the city just to have an experience of what the historical sites look like. Due to
this, there has been a high demand for urban tourism within the area and this has
triggered different types of human activities including businesses.
 Beautiful sceneries- The beautiful sceneries that display an interesting view from the city
gives a perfect opportunity for the tourists to clearly view the surrounding from a high
point. With this, they feel that they perfectly interact with nature in an appropriate
manner and this has kept more of them coming to the city almost on a daily basis. It has
therefore led to a rapid increase in urban tourism within the area thereby impacting
positively to the lives of the locals.

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 The need to accept other cultures- Since the local inhabitants of Ipoh city accepted to
interact with other cultures across the world, this has greatly triggered the emergence of
urban tourism within the area. Due to this, various people have been able to perfectly
relate with one another while exchanging different cultural issues.
Research Methods
Different types of research methods were brought into consideration in this research in
order to come up with an accurate and reliable information geared towards bringing a lot of
positive changes through a perfect condition of analysis. The use of a questionnaire is one of the
major research methods that was implemented in this research. On the other hand, it enabled the
research to come up with the first-hand information from thirty different respondents who were
able to appropriately respond to the questions that they were subjected to. The following are
some of the questions that were covered in the questionnaire;
(1) Do you feel that urban tourism has impacted positively in your life?
(2) Can you compare the rate of urban tourism being experienced currently in the city with the
one that existed in the earlier days?
(3) What role have you been playing within the society to ensure that urban tourism takes a
good path?
(4) Do you feel that there are effects associated with urban tourism within the city?
(5) What is the current rate of development taking place within the city as a result of urban
tourism?
(6) Are there some other organizations that have been able to clearly come on board to
strongly support issues dealing with urban tourism?

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(7) Do you feel that the government should also come on board and address this issue among
different populations?
(8) Is there the need to create awareness pertaining to the demand of urban tourism within the
town?
(9) What are some of the best strategies that should be taken into account to ensure that issues
dealing with urban tourism are not neglected within society?
(10) Are you able to compare the current economic status of the town with the one that existed
in the earlier days before urban tourism came on board?
(11) What other human activities have been able to come on board within the city as a result
of urban tourism?
(12) Is there the likelihood of urban tourism moving to greater heights in the coming future?
(13) Do you think the percentage of attaining job opportunities as a result of urban tourism is
increasing on a daily basis?
(14) Do you think that the historical sites within the town will still stand to be seen even in the
coming years?
(15) Are you able to compare the city of Ipoh with the other cities of the world in terms of
urban tourism?
(16) Apart from the demand of urban tourism within the city, what other issues are also
currently in demand?
(17) In as much as urban tourism strengthens the economy of the city, do you think that it also
has the capability of supporting different political issues?
(18) Is it appropriate to build more hotels in different parts of the city to offer adequate
accommodation services for the tourists?

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(19) How have you been able to benefit from cultural exchange activities with different people
originating from various parts of the world?
(20) What normally interests the tourists during their visit to the city?
Respondents data
A total of 250 respondents were subjected to the questionnaire in order to perfectly
analyze their opinion pertaining urban tourism. They were placed into groups of ten and
subjected with the questionnaires separately so that each and every individual could be able to
come up with what they think about regarding the entire situation. Additionally, an
approximation of 90% of the respondents were able to agree and support each and every
activity that is attached to urban tourism within the area, the other remaining 10% were not
able to provide appropriate information as a result of certain circumstances. The data of the
respondents that supported urban tourism clearly indicated that there is likelihood for the
whole activity to advance to greater heights where it will be able to perform efficiently. On
the other hand, the total number of respondents that are giving a positive feedback that are
motivating is also expected to rise even to an estimated percentage of 98%. Additionally, all
the respondents will be collected from a population that resides within the city since they are
the ones who have experienced all the aspects that are related to urban tourism within the area.
Discussion
After carrying out a research from different people living within the city, it is clear
beyond any reasonable doubt that there is a high demand for urban tourism within the city of
Ipoh and this has led to the emergence of different types of positive activities. It has proved

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beyond any reasonable doubt that there are quite a number of activities that have got the potential
of triggering the emergence of urban tourism thereby causing a high demand across large
numbers of tourists originating from different parts of the world just to come and tour the region.
The research shows that approximately 90% of the people living in the town are satisfied with
how the rate of urban tourism is currently gaining popularity within the area. On the other hand,
the youth aged between 18 years to 24 years were able to strongly support this activity since is
their major source of income in terms of providing them with different job opportunities. This
research was also able to figure out that a good percentage of government officials and those
holding senior positions are gaining, due to this, they are ready to offer a strong support in order
for the tourism sector to flourish just like the other cities that have made it to the top. a lot of
interest in the urban tourism sector that is being encountered within the city Additionally, a good
number of the residents were also able to support the addition of more accommodation services
to cater for tourists originating from different parts. Various individuals and organizations
should, therefore, make a good use of this research by clearly coming on board and be able to
support an issue that is related to urban tourism.
This research came up with a finding that clearly states that the demand of tourism within
the city of Ipoh is likely to raise to greater levels in the coming years and will continue to trigger
quite a number of development within the area. On the other hand, the activities related to urban
tourism within the area are likely to capture the attention of huge number of individuals across
the world in the coming years and will also go further to impact positively in the lives of the
individual tourists. Additionally, the economic status of Ipoh city will soon rise to greater levels
where it can be compared to other several cities in the world that have been able to rise to the
tope as a result of urban tourism. This advancement in its economic status will make it very easy

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to carry out different operations and also give them a humble opportunity to be able to
accomplish most of their future goals in real time. The research also came up with a finding that
the government will is likely to start playing an essential role when it comes to making Ipoh city
the city that people have been dreaming about, this will only be carried out by strongly
supporting issues that are related to urban tourism by coming up with appropriate rules and
regulations that will be able to give the tourists a conducive environment where they can
adequately carry out their activities without posing any danger to the locals or eve to the
surrounding environment. Very soon, the demand for urban tourism taking place within the city
will gain popularity and attract the attention of various organizations most so the ones that have
the capability of delivering various tourism services across the board thus maintaining a strong
solid foundation for the sector and make the people understand that it is one of the important
activities that has got the potential of changing lives. Finally, there is the need to purchase
various advanced tourism equipment in large numbers, for example the vehicles that are meant to
support tourists should be readily available in large numbers in order to accommodate the
tourists adequately thereby strongly motivating them to come back and visit the area again as a
result of the quality services that are offered to them.

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