World Heritage help for Phuket sought

via Bangkok Post, 16 Sep 2019:

Phuket Old Town needs more support from the government to be prepared for evaluation as a World Heritage Site, as the Fine Arts Department plans to submit the city to Unesco for the 2020 list.

Don Limnunthaphisit, president of the Phuket Old Town tourism community, said the city would like to receive a rolling budget each year to support renovations, as do Penang and Malacca, cities in Malaysia on the World Heritage List.

The town does get some funding from the government, but the community is still responsible for most aspects of the renovation process and volunteer efforts may not be enough to achieve World Heritage Site status.

Source: World Heritage help sought