2017 Survey of Travelers to Timor-Leste – Key Results is a two-page infographic summarising The Asia Foundation’s 2017 traveller exit survey. The survey was run with the Ministry of Tourism and funded by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT). It sizes the leisure market and its spending, which is why the 2018 Tourism Barometer and later market studies rely on it. The full report is also available in English and Tetum.
Key results
- Arrivals: 73,837 arrivals were issued Class 1 tourist visas in 2017. Of these, 36,975 travelled for leisure and 11,075 were holiday-makers.
- Spending: Leisure travellers spent US$24.6 million in total, and holiday-makers US$12.6 million. Median spend was US$1,135 per holiday-maker per trip, with a median holiday of 3 nights.
- Primary reason for travel: business 43%, holiday 30%, visiting friends and family 24%.
- Leisure travellers by nationality: Australia 46%, Indonesia 24%, Portugal 6%, New Zealand 5%, China 2%.
- Where inbound travellers lived: Australia 54% (Darwin and Melbourne 24% each, Sydney and Brisbane 14% each), Indonesia 25%, New Zealand 4%.
- Information sources: The internet and friends, family or colleagues were the main sources (82% each). Within the internet, 37% used timorleste.tl, 19% travel websites and 17% social media. Only 56% had seen any marketing for Timor-Leste.
- Places visited for leisure: Dili 70%, Atauro 45%, Liquiçá 28%.
- Activities: beach 57%, cultural activities 50%, diving and snorkelling 47%, historic sites 44%, hiking 21%.
- Dili attractions: Cristo Rei 89%, Tais Market 50%, Resistance Museum 35%, Areia Branca beach 34%.
- Satisfaction: 95% rated hospitality and customer service good, 94% safety and security, 64% infrastructure. 90% would recommend Timor-Leste.
Document details
- Publisher: The Asia Foundation with the Ministry of Tourism, Timor-Leste
- Funder: New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade
- Year: 2017 (survey year)
- Languages: English and Tetum (full report)
- Pages: 2 (key-results summary)
- Download: Key results PDF (timorleste.tl), full report, English (asiafoundation.org), full report, Tetum
Further reading
- 2014 Survey of Travelers to Timor-Leste
- Baseline Supply and Demand Analysis (World Bank, 2021)
- Australia/Timor-Leste Tourism Market Analysis (2020)
- Strategic Tourism Marketing Plan for Timor-Leste (Indonesia), 2019
- 2020 Economic Impact of COVID-19 on MSMEs and Tourism
- Timor-Leste Tourism Barometer 2018