Famous for its pottery and man-made flowers, Ayer Hitam is a popular tourist attraction and rest stop for travellers on the North-South Expressway. It is one of the preferred routes to enter Batu Pahat coming from the South (such as Johor Bahru and Singapore).
Town center is about 32km east of Batu Pahat with a population of around 15,000. It is relatively quiet during weekdays, and becomes very busy during weekends. Tourists will find many souvenir shops and restaurants dotted around town.
Ayer Hitam has high quality clay suitable for making pottery. It had two pottery factories in the beginning, and it has about six factories today.