Timor-Leste to exhibit at PATA Travel Mart 2003

The youngest country in the world, Timor-Leste (formerly known as East Timor) is to attend its first ever travel trade event when it exhibits at the PATA Travel Mart 2003 which runs in Singapore from 1 to 3 October 2003.

“PATA Travel Mart 2003 in Singapore will be for Timor-Leste the first step in the internationalisation of the newest nation of the third millennium,” said Mr. Jose Teixeira, Timor-Leste’s Secretary of State for Tourism, Environment and Investment. “In attending PATA Travel Mart we are opening the doors to a huge PATA network and we are inviting everyone to visit us and do business with us.”

Timor-Leste is a small nation with big plans for the PATA Travel Mart. Mr. Teixeira believes that the PATA region will be at the forefront of travel and tourism in the future.

“We will be presenting a young and peaceful nation, a unique and pristine destination and a place in which creative and innovative people may do business,” Mr. Teixeira said. “We want to be part of tourism’s big future in the region and we want to contribute to that future. We have a strong commitment to a sustainable tourism industry that is environmentally friendly and which has grass-root links with the community, culture and traditions of Timor-Leste.”

In April, Timor-Leste joined PATA as a government member following PATA Vice President, Mr. Peter Semone's trip to Dili. Mr. Semone met with Prime Minister, Mr. Mari Alkatiri, and Mr. Teixeira.

"Timor-Leste has world-class beaches and scuba diving plus numerous land-based attractions," Mr. Semone said. "The destination needs investment, but it has a very bright tourism future ahead of it."