On Saturday, 25 July 2026, at 13:00 (Thailand time) or 15:00 (South Korea time), the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee was held in the city of Busan, Republic of Korea. On the agenda was the consideration of nominations for new UNESCO World Heritage Sites (Agenda Item 8B), during which the committee examined Thailand's nomination of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, as a cultural World Heritage Site.
In its presentation, Thailand put forward the Outstanding Universal Value of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, both as a masterpiece of architecture reflecting historical development, as a centre of cultural and artistic exchange in Southeast Asia, and as a Living Heritage that continues to be passed down through the ancient and continuously practised tradition of the Hae Pha Khuen That robe-draping ceremony, which endures to this day.
The outcome of the committee's deliberations met the goal that the Thai government had been working toward. The World Heritage Committee unanimously resolved to officially inscribe Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan, Nakhon Si Thammarat Province, as a new UNESCO cultural World Heritage Site under Criteria II and VI. This marks Thailand's 9th World Heritage Site overall, its 6th cultural World Heritage Site, and the first from the southern region.
This inscription represents yet another significant achievement for Thailand in the conservation and promotion of its cultural heritage on the international stage, while reaffirming the outstanding value of Wat Phra Mahathat Woramahawihan as a heritage site of distinction in terms of history, art, belief, and a living cultural way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation until it has gained recognition at the global level.
