Timor-Leste is a small country, 15,000 km2 and a population just over 1 million, with beautiful and varied landscapes. Ithastropicalwatersrichinmarinelife,somewhitesandybeachesandruggedhillcountry/ mountainranges. Naturalfeaturesincludecavessystemsandhotwatersprings. Itisculturallyinteresting with Portuguese colonial heritage, resistance history and Timorese culture. Timorese are generally extremelyfriendlyandverywelcomingtovisitors,especiallyinthedistricts. A'trickle'ofinternationalholiday makers to this 'new' destination is definitely starting to emerge and these are arriving for quite a diverse range of reasons.
Timor-Leste tourism is at an early stage of development and, not surprisingly, following its recent long struggle for independence, receives extremely low numbers of international visitors. The previous presence of the United Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste contributed to the development of an artificial tourism industry where the restricted mobility of the international staff created a captive market and a false impression that tourist volume is achievable with little or no effort. Since the departure of the peace keeping mission in December 2012, the occupancy rate of Dili's hotels and visitors to the districts in general have declined substantially.
It will take time to (re-)build up international visitor arrivals through a combination of targeted tourism marketing / development and ensuring those few visitors that are arriving receive a satisfying / good value holidayexperience (i.e.therebygeneratingpositive'wordofmouth'recommendationsinthemarketplace). In addition, it is likely to take time for other countries to soften their travel advisories on Timor-Leste, an important step in making the country more attractive for holidaying.