On 8th July 2008, 2 historic cities of the Straits of Malacca: George Town , Penang and Melaka had been in scripted as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. At ExplorePenang.com, we are excited and proud that our beloved Penang state has been awarded such prestige award. Finally, the effort of Malaysia Federal government together with state government had initiated the nomination as World Heritage sites since 1997 had been paid off.

Melaka and George Town have developed over 500 years of trading and cultural exchanges between East and West in the Straits of Malacca. The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible. Featuring residential and commercial buildings, George Town represents the British era from the end of the 18th century. Penang and Melaka towns constitute a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia .

With this listing as World Heritage sites, we believed that it can boost the tourism in Penang . It can benefit the entire sector in Penang such as hotels, food & beverage outlets, transports and other industries which link with tourism. Besides that, the award can help to raise awareness among citizens and governments for heritage preservation. Greater awareness leads to a general increase in protection and conservation. Besides that, the country may receive financial assistance and expert advice from the World Heritage Committee to support activities for the preservation of its sites.

In George Town , the World Heritage covers the site such as: