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Following 400 years of Portuguese colonial administration and 24 years of Indonesian occupation, post-conflict Timor-Leste’s government has been underpinned by its commitment to reconciliation and democracy. Sustainable development approaches have catalysed the country’s transition from civil unrest to state-stability, but much work remains if lasting economic benefits are to be felt by the country’s majority rural population. While rhetoric indicates that Timor-Leste is committed to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals and achieving economic diversification, the continued dependence on oil presents an imminent economic and societal challenge. Tourism in Timor-Leste is acknowledged as being one of the nation’s most important non-oil sectors, and its growth requires the availability of quality tourism products and experiences. A key activity that can create synergies between culture, history and nature is an exploration of food, place and people towards eliciting the “story” of the food of Timor-Leste. This qualitative research utilised interviews and focus groups to explore how food stories and experiential culinary tourism can allow for the development of a positive narrative of resilience in contemporary Timor-Leste. The empirical findings suggest that food providers and restaurants owners share a responsibility in decisions about what food and food stories become tourism offerings in Timor-Leste.
Berno et al. (Thu,) studied this question.