East Timor could be tourism paradise

Dili: It has pristine beaches, lush highlands and an exotic cultural mix - and lies just a few hours flight east of the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

But currently almost the only overseas visitors to East Timor are foreign troops, journalists and aid workers after Asia's young-est nation descended into turmoil last year.

The former Portuguese colony, covering an area slightly smaller than Hawaii, has just staged presidential and parliamentary elections, which it is hoped will help restore stability in the country five years after independence.

"Now there are not so many tourists because of security," said Tito Labato, who had helped manage a privately run tourist information centre on the beach front, before it closed in March.

The centre, below an Australian-run bar, had been arranging trips for about eight people a month - mainly westerners, Singaporeans and Thais - to the mountains or for diving.

"But I think we will open again," he added cheerfully.

Ann Turner, vice president of the Tourism Association of East Timor, said developing the sector was key for the young nation, since it could employ many people swiftly and provide careers.

"It [tourism] also tends to look to younger people for staff, exactly the people who need to be taken off the streets and given some meaning in life," added Turner, a former journalist who launched a dive centre with her husband in 2001.

East Timor, one of the world's poorest nations with only around $400 income per capita, has more than $1 billion from rich energy resources in the Timor sea in a New York bank account.

But the oil and gas sector will require specialised workers and will only be able to make a small dent in unemployment.

Village-like feel

Despite still bearing scars from last year's violence and more bloodshed and destruction after a 1999 vote to break away from Indonesia, the sleepy capital Dili is not without charm.

It has a village-like feel with goats and pigs wandering the streets and some attractive Portuguese buildings in the city, which sprawls along stretch of coast backed by scrubby hills.

There is little traffic, apart from the white Landcruisers, part of the United Nations' expansive operations in the country.

Currently, Dili's tiny airport only has a handful of flights a day from Darwin in Australia and Bali.

East Timor offers spectacular diving with rare creatures ranging from pygmy seahorses to dugongs frequenting its waters.

But East Timor certainly faces challenges from a lack of tourist infrastructure.

"There are only a handful of hotels outside Dili, the transport facilities can be hard work and it you're intending to get off the beaten track you must be prepared to rough it," a forward in the Lonely Planet guide to East Timor says.

Violence hits efforts to lure visitors

Early attempts to build up tourism were rocked last year after the sacking of 600 rebellious soldiers triggered violence that killed 37 people and drove 150,000 from their homes.

Foreign troops had to be brought in to restore order.

About 30,000 displaced people remain in camps dotted around Dili, many in tents right next to the airport or in squares in the town centre, forced to hang their clothes out to dry on fencing next to the elegant colonial-style Timor Hotel.

Security has improved since last year but sporadic violence, vandalism and arson persist, with an estimated 50 per cent unemployment rate helping fan gang culture among bored youths.