Destinations known | Where sustainable tourism is rewarded with special cultural experiences – welcome to Palau

Palau has launched a new initiative whereby visitors who do things such as use reef-safe sunscreen and visit culturally significant sites earn points in an app

Points can be cashed in for experiences unavailable to visitors who don’t take part, such as touring historic sites and swimming in hidden caves

Reading Time:3 minutes

Why you can trust SCMP

A tourist snorkels in the waters of Palau, an island country in the western Pacific Ocean that has launched a sustainable tourism initiative that rewards visitors who show “responsible and regenerative behaviour”. Photo: Ullstein Bild via Getty Images

Mark Footer

Published: 8:45am, 13 Apr 2022Updated: 3:08am, 25 Apr 2022

The Republic of Palau is the little country that does, when it comes to sustainability.

As well as being home to the world’s first shark sanctuary, the archipelago of 500-plus islands in the western Pacific Ocean introduced the world’s first nuclear-free constitution and was the first to turn all of its territorial waters – that’s almost 600,000 square kilometres (230,000 square miles) – into a marine park, and thus ban commercial fishing.

And then there is the Palau Pledge. Introduced in 2017, the law requires all visitors to make an environmental promise to Palau’s children that is stamped into their passports on arrival. In taking the pledge, visitors learn about their potential impact on the environment and local culture, and they are given guidelines to follow to help them keep their promise.

The Palau Pledge has since been replicated by destinations such as New Zealand, Hawaii and Finland.

Palau is a nation of more than 500 islands. Photo: Getty Images

Now, ahead of the Our Ocean Conference Palau 2022, the country has done it again. This time in rhyme: Ol’au Palau is a tourism model that aims to influence still further how visitors interact with the country’s environment and culture.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x