GEORGE TOWN: George Town, Penang has been named as one of Asia's finest Unesco World Heritage Sites by the Times of India, putting the Pearl of the Orient on the world map even in times of the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a report titled "Asia's Unesco World Heritage Sites", dated May 31, Arka Roy Chowdhury wrote "the best of Asia perhaps lies in its many ancient wonders, a lot of which are Unesco World Heritage Sites today."
He said among the finest were the Preah Vihear Temple, Cambodia; Daigo-Ji Temple Complex, Japan; George Town, Malaysia; Taj Mahal, India; Chocolate Hills, the Philippines; Potala, Tibet; and Ajanta Caves, India.
Of George Town, Arka said: "The historic George Town in Penang is the first place where the British settled in Southeast Asia. Japan had taken over it World War II. It has huge historical significance."
State Tourism and Creative Economy executive councillor, Yeoh Soon Hin said George Town had long been favoured as a destination for culture and heritage tourism, which is statistically proven through the Penang Tourists Survey 2019, which disclosed 39.7 per cent of international and 24.2 per cent of domestic tourists visit Penang for sightseeing in George Town.
"With these promising numbers, we want to create greater synergy between tourists and local cultural heritage practitioners, which is why we placed heritage as one of our focal points in the Penang Tourism Master Plan.
"This recognition by Times of India has proven that we are moving towards the right direction. We look forward to sharing this melting pot of culture with the rest of the world when travel bans are lifted," he said.
Yeoh added that the Penang government had seized this lockdown opportunity to empower local cultural heritage practitioners and small businesses by encouraging digitalisation through the "George Town in the New Normal" project spearheaded by George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI).
The project has seen the implementation of three phases and aims to benefit 3,000 local businesses and 267 cultural heritage practitioners in Penang.
"With these efforts in place, we can build the capacity of our local heritage landscape and prepare them for a post-pandemic era.
"Travellers can then experience Penang's rich endowments in arts, culture and heritage with improved digital practices such as increased usage of e-wallets and easier search ability of local businesses in search engines," he added.