Currently, Dili Convention Centre and several larger hotels with meeting spaces can cater to events for between 200 and 300 attendees.
“We have good MICE facilities and Australia is a top target market,” said Antonio da Silva, director general of tourism for Timor-Leste.
“We recognise the need to scale up MICE facilities. We recently broke ground on the construction of a modern international conference centre at the old Dili Port which will open in 2028.”
Event spaces will connect to leisure amenities such as accommodation, a pier walkway, an aquarium and an entertainment centre.
A 2.7km stretch of beach and sidewalk at the Dili waterfront will also be improved and upgraded.
There are more than 500 high-quality rooms located in the Dili corridor, including the new Palm Springs Hotel and JL World Hotel.
“We see the need to increase both [the] capacity and quality of our tourist accommodation to support sustained tourism growth,” da Silva added.
Opportunities include business hotels in Dili and luxury eco-resorts in designated coastal zones such as Atauro Island.
Flight connectivity is important. Among 31 weekly direct international flights, 10 are between Darwin and Dili: daily by Qantas and thrice-weekly by Air North. Alongside these, Aero Dili will start twice-weekly services between Darwin and Dili in May.
An expansion of Dili airport infrastructure is underway and will be completed in 2028.
Business meetings of varying sizes are already happening in Dili.
At the Timor-Leste – Australia Economic and Business Conference last October, both countries reaffirmed their commitment to advancing economic and business cooperation for mutual benefit.
The two-day conference and trade show saw more than 400 participants from agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and processing, and minerals and resources share ideas and experiences.
This October, a leadership retreat for about 60 delegates from the Property Council of Australia will convene in Dili.
The newest member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), Timor-Leste made its debut at TRAVEX in late January. The Ministry of Tourism said its booth attracted significant interest, drawing strong engagement from buyers and trade visitors.
“We were encouraged by the interest from buyers in Australia, our closest neighbour and largest tourism market. This is expected to grow further with increased flight capacity,” said da Silva.
