Tourism

The Covid-19 pandemic is leading to a dramatic rollback of economic progress across Southeast Asia. While the region has managed to contain the spread of the virus better than most others, the economic impact on the region has been devastating. As a result of its heavy dependence on the tourism sector, Thailand has one of the worst affected economi… Read more

The 2019 Survey of Travelers to Timor-Leste provides insights into the country’s developing tourism industry. It revealed that over 38,000 leisure travelers visited Timor-Leste in 2019, spending more than USD$23 million. This survey shows visitor trends and interests, including the most popular travel locations and activities within the country. In… Read more

Timor-Leste is working hard to reopen its shuttered tourism industry, but a few false steps and a new surge of Covid infections since last month’s flash floods may make it difficult to attract international travelers demanding new levels of safety and hygiene.

Before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, Timor-Leste’s aviation sector was at an embryonic stage of development, and the shortcomings of its aviation sector were recognized as constraints on the development of tourism. Yet the fact is that international aviation is an extremely complex system. It is critically important that Timor-Leste’s resourc… Read more

The 2018 Timor-Leste Tourism Barometer is the first of its kind for Timor-Leste. It was developed as a tool to identify opportunities and constraints of Timor-Leste’s tourism sector, providing a situational analysis of tourism supply, demand, partnerships, and market outlook. Designed through wide consultation and participation of public and privat… Read more

The 2018 Timor-Leste Tourism Barometer is the first of its kind for Timor-Leste. It was developed as a tool to identify opportunities and constraints of Timor-Leste’s tourism sector, providing a situational analysis of tourism supply, demand, partnerships, and market outlook. Designed through wide consultation and participation of public and privat… Read more

One of The Asia Foundation’s main objectives in Timor-Leste is to expand economic opportunity and increase diversification of the non-oil economy. The Foundation, in partnership with the Australia Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Work Force Development Program executed a short 3-month project for Foka ba Futuru (Film the Future). The project… Read more

The 2017 Survey of Travelers to Timor-Leste provides insights into the country’s developing tourism industry. It reveals that almost 37,000 leisure travelers visited Timor-Leste in 2017, spending more than USD$24 million. This survey shows visitor trends and interests, including the most popular travel locations and activities within the country. I… Read more

Turo-Turismo is a project run by The Asia Foundation in the Philippines, through our Coalitions for Change (CfC) partnership with the Australian government. Beginning with a pilot program in Bohol in 2014, later expanded to the adjacent island provinces of Cebu and Siquijor in 2016, the tourism-focused training and immersion program prepares high s… Read more

In July, Timor-Leste held its 4th parliamentary election, heralding in a new government, and potentially new leadership both within key ministries and at the prime ministerial level. Such leadership changes come at a critical time for the oil-dependent island nation, with warnings that if it doesn’t diversify its economy beyond oil extraction, the… Read more

“From its ruggedly beautiful landscapes to its centuries-old traditions, Timor-Leste offers one of the world’s last great off-the-beaten-track adventures,” begins Lonely Planet’s description of Asia’s youngest country, which fought to gain independence from Indonesia 14 years ago. The description is indisputable, but so too are the Southeast Asian… Read more