In 2024, Melaka’s tourism was supercharged by a Visit Melaka Year campaign with Fan Bingbing as an ambassador. The megastar actress from China visited Melaka in June that year – resulting in 1.5 billion tourism campaign impressions on WeChat and more than 320 million searches for Melaka on Weibo. 

Cruise ships from Genting’s Resort World Cruises (operating out of Singapore) also began calling at Melaka in November that year. A month later, Melaka’s tourism authorities recorded 13.5 million tourist arrivals, nearly 82 per cent up from 2023. And hosting the World Tourism Conference in September last year has kept up the momentum.

Naturally, the tourism boom is a double-edged sword. The chief appeal of this UNESCO Heritage Site is its historical significance and (once) quiet charm, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find moments to breathe in the city that’s inundated with tourists these days.

Time your trip on a Tuesday if possible. While some shopkeepers report having busy days, most say it’s not as frenetic as other weekdays. Needless to say, Friday-to-Sunday weekends have traditionally been busiest, and it’s a lot worse these days. Mondays and Tuesdays are usually when cities breathe easier after weekends, but the former isn’t as great for Melaka thanks to cruise ship arrivals.

As for the time of year, be mindful of school holiday periods for both Malaysia and Singapore, and the year-end also generally sees more tourists visiting from northern-hemisphere countries experiencing winter.

Melaka’s booming popularity might now be at odds with the visitor experience, but it’s still worth visiting if you’re armed with proper intel. Here’s a...