Opportunities & Prospects for Growing Marine Tourism in Timor-Leste is a slide presentation given at the 9th Dada Lia forum in Dili on 27 February 2020. It came from the Marine Tourism Association of Timor-Leste (ATM-TL), which was founded on 26 April 2019 with support from USAID’s Tourism For All project. It sums up the case for marine ecotourism: global market trends, Timor-Leste’s marine assets, the risks of unmanaged growth, and the association’s strategy.
Key contents
- Global trends: coral-reef tourism (more than 350 million visitors a year), fast-growing cetacean tourism, shark and manta ray tourism (“worth more alive than dead”) and “muck diving” in Indonesia and the Philippines.
- Marine assets: Timor-Leste lies in the Coral Triangle, but its shallow habitats are small (about 146 km² of coral reef, 18 km² of mangroves, 8 km² of seagrass). The slides cite Conservation International surveys showing Atauro’s reefs (2016) have the world’s highest average reef-fish diversity. They also note 24 cetacean species recorded since the first surveys in 2008, including pygmy blue whales and sperm whales, in the deep Ombai-Wetar Strait.
- Current marine tourism: snorkelling, free-diving and scuba, kayaking, sailing, voluntourism and citizen science, underwater photography, fishing, and village homestays. The Atauro Homestay Association is a community example.
- Challenges: environmental protection, tourism standards and regulation, operator training and accreditation, maritime safety and infrastructure, business registration and immigration.
- Threats: marine pollution, industrial fisheries, oil, gas and shipping, coastal development, unsustainable cetacean tourism (including a rise in foreign operators), and climate change.
- ATM-TL strategy: three pillars. (1) Build a coordinated, responsible marine tourism sector, with safety codes and standards. (2) Develop a Timor-Leste “blue brand”, a niche dive destination and a world-class sustainable whale-watching industry. (3) Strengthen conservation, ocean education and community-based marine ecotourism.
Document details
- Presenter: Marine Tourism Association of Timor-Leste (ATM-TL)
- Event: 9th Dada Lia, Dili, 27 February 2020
- Language: English
- Pages: 54 slides
- Download: PDF (timorleste.tl)
Further reading
- Post-COVID Era: Dive Operators Working Group and MDF Launch a Video
- Australia/Timor-Leste Tourism Market Analysis (MDF, 2020)