Timor Leste Banking on Tourism but Faces Big Hurdles

Timor Leste is one of the youngest countries in the world after achieving independence just 11 years ago.

But it has grand ambitions to help the lives of its citizens.

Most of them still live in poverty despite good growth rates and revenue from oil and gas recently.

But the government is hoping to diversify its economy by growing the tourism industry as the country has much natural beauty to offer.

Ricardo Ximenes Marques wakes up to paradise every morning at one of the beaches in Baucau. The 26-year-old works as a waiter at the bar here.

The water nearby is so clear – you don’t even need to dive to check out some of the coral and marine life.

But only about 27 people visit this untouched paradise every week.

And this isn’t helping Ricardo’s aim for higher education for his siblings and himself.

“My mother and my father, they don’t have much facility to help us, to put us in university,” he says.

“That’s why we decided to go another way, how to help each other. I’m the oldest one so I try as hard and as fast as I could so I can get what’s needed.”

Ricardo is part of a community programme which employs about 15 people.

Started two years ago, the programme aims to create sustainable marine industries here including fisheries, agriculture and marine tourism.

The man behind the project is 42-year-old Kevin Austin, a former United Nations security advisor in Timor Leste. He stayed in the country after the UN forces left at the end of last year.

But it wasn’t exactly an easy start, admits Kevin.

“There’s a lot of mistrust here initially, especially with a community that, I guess, was at the heart of the former independence struggle.”

Kevin teaches skills to those in the programme – from cooking to organising boat tours and hospitality. He started with 4,500 US dollars - just enough for a small bar and a barbecue grill.

But the grill doesn’t get lit as often anymore.
 
Before leaving the country last year, UN officials and related expats used to drive up from other areas in Timor Leste to visit the beach.

But despite the dismal number of tourists at the moment, Kevin sees a silver lining.

“People that were here before – the expats – didn’t necessarily spend a lot of money in the country, a lot of it went offshore. Whereas tourists, when they come, they do want to actually have an experience and stay within the community and that’s where they’re spending the money in.”

But infrastructure is a big challenge here.

Driving to the beach areas in Baucau can take hours on long winding roads with potholes –making it a slow and difficult task.

But the government promises to turn things around by building up infrastructure and marketing the country as a tourist destination. Some 120 thousand tourists visited Timor Leste last year and the plan is to double this number soon.

Secretary of state for arts and culture Maria Isabel says the government hopes to position Timor Leste as a popular adventure travel spot.

“It doesn’t mean we don’t want 4 or 5-star hotels but we really want to show the nature of the country,” says Maria Isabel.

“Otherwise, people can just go to Bali. They have almost everything. They have 7-star hotels I believe. What you really want to do here is adventure tourism in which people who come can go and talk to the community and we want people from outside to see our way of living.”

Despite all the obstacles, Timor Leste is blessed with natural beauty and there are hidden gems to explore in the tourism sector.

With high growth rates in recent years and revenues from oil and gas - many believe the government may be able to achieve its dreams.

Senior economist at the World Bank Hans Beck says we need to look at Timor Leste with context.

“The country is just over ten years old. It started from scratch and research shows that countries take about 15 to 30 years to actually emerge post-conflict and to develop their institutions and their economy. So what Timor has done is quite remarkable.”

But like many Timorese, Ricardo is hoping for the pace of development to pick up.

“The government is doing what it has to do. Tourism is very special. They must put this as the first important point. But honestly, as we know, Timor Leste is a young country, so we must learn more and more experience from other countries like our neighbours Indonesia and Australia especially.”

But many around the world still think that the country is a war zone.

The US government, for example, warns its citizens to maintain security awareness while in the country.

So perhaps the biggest battle for the government here may just lie in changing mindsets.