Ataúro Recognized as One of Top 100 Sustainability Stories

Who/What is ATKOMA?

ATKOMA is a DMO created in 2000 by an assembly of local tourism advocates to develop low-impact tourism in Timor-Leste. The group consists of tourism providers and community representatives who advocate for sustainable tourism development. We work directly with local businesses to guarantee that economic benefits are spread evenly in the island. For that, Ataúro Recognized as One of Top 100 Sustainability Stories.

For us, not only the economy of tourism is important, but also the way tourism interacts with our heritage. We also count on our proud members that help us reach our goals; Compass Diving, Beloi Beach Hotel, Ataúro Dive Resort, Blue Ventures ,and Barry’s Place. This is a joint win for all of the businesses on Ataúro.

Annual Green Destinations Top 100 Competition

Every year the Top 100 Sustainability Stories competition collects sustainable tourism stories and good practices from all over the world. By telling their stories, destination management organisations can be acknowledged and recognised for their smart solutions. With the tourism sector facing very challenging times in the past years, the resiliency and hard work of these destinations to become more responsible should be celebrated.

Submissions were evaluated by the Sustainable Top 100 Team, country experts and Green Destination Partners, coordinated by Green Destinations. The Top 100 Committee stresses that selection to the Top 100 list does not mean the destination is sustainable, but that the destination has been pre-selected based on a minimum level of compliance with the core criteria of the Green Destinations Standard and selected to the list based on the assessment of their Good Practice Story.

Every year, the competition involves key players in the sustainable tourism industry, such as Green Destinations, QualityCoast, Travelife, ITB Berlin, Asian Ecotourism Network, Ecotourism Australia, Global Ecotourism Network, Sustainable First, and GLP Films.

Get to Know the Winners

Out of the hundreds of destinations vying for recognition and receiving this award, our ATAÚRO ISLAND & ATKOMA, with the story “REVIVING CULTURAL TRADITIONS AND FOSTERING ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TARA BANDU MARINE PROTECTED AREAS” was selected. Our success story is rooted in re-establishing local ancient laws to address marine-ecosystem protection and conservation to create economic, social and environmental resilience for local communities in the long term.

The aim while undertaking this initiative was to create local involvement to foster a feeling of belonging that can help Ataúro and ATKOMA to reach desirable goals of sustainable development through tourism. Get to know our story here!
To be awarded with the Top 100 Sustainability Stories, the destinations went through meticulous assessments including nature conservation, destination management policy/strategy, tangible cultural heritage and human rights. Meet some of the winners that shared this amazing experience with us:

• Peru – Community Tourism and Empowerment of Rural Women in San Martin: working together to restructure the local economy by changing from cultivating coca leafs to cocoa and coffee and creating new tourism products. Read the full story here.
• Netherlands – Meerssen launches digital Node-to-Node Hiking Trail Network: using technology to enhance customer experience and protect carrying capacity of hiking trails. Read the full story here.
• Brazil – Feast of St. John of Tibau/RN and support to local culture during the pandemic: promoting culture in digital events to guarantee a safe tourism restart post-covid. Read the full story here.

Our story “REVIVING CULTURAL TRADITIONS AND FOSTERING ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT THROUGH TARA BANDU MARINE PROTECTED AREAS” and the whole 2021 Top 100 list are available here.