Community-Based Eco-cultural Tourism in Timor Leste

FoE Timor Leste/Haburas has established community-based eco-cultural tourism models in Tutuala, Maubisse, and Laloran to provide sustainable economic development and skill-building for rural communities. The Tutuala project has hosted over 4,000 tourists, improving local living standards and education. FoE Timor Leste advocates for the government to integrate community-based ecotourism into the national strategic development plan as a critical non-fossil fuel economic sector.

• FoE Timor Leste/Haburas and the community in Tutuala developed a community-based tourism model to provide remote rural communities with economic development that utilizes local strengths, distributes benefits fairly, and preserves cultural and natural heritage.
• The tourism venture in Tutuala has successfully hosted over 4,000 tourists from more than 140 countries, resulting in accumulated reserve funds and improved standards of living, including funding for children's education.
• The project model has been replicated by FoE Timor Leste in the coastal area of Laloran and the highlands of Maubisse, demonstrating that communities can manage their own decisions and participate in the national development agenda.
• Community-based tourism has provided members, including those who missed schooling, with diverse skills in financial management, hospitality, languages, and environmental and conflict management.
• FoE Timor Leste recommends that the government prioritize community-based ecotourism as a non-fossil fuel sector within the national strategic development plan, noting that the country's primary revenues from oil and gas have a short lifespan.

APA

admin (2015). Community-Based Eco-cultural Tourism in Timor Leste. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/community-based-eco-cultural-tourism-in-timor-leste/

Chicago

admin. Community-Based Eco-cultural Tourism in Timor Leste. Friends of the Earth International, 2015. https://www.foei.org/community-based-eco-cultural-tourism-in-timor-leste/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=admin |title=Community-Based Eco-cultural Tourism in Timor Leste |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=30 September 2015 |url=https://www.foei.org/community-based-eco-cultural-tourism-in-timor-leste/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{admin2015communitybased, author = {admin}, title = {{Community-Based Eco-cultural Tourism in Timor Leste}}, institution = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2015}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/community-based-eco-cultural-tourism-in-timor-leste/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }