Ol’au Palau is a new model of tourism where the more sustainably you tread, the more access to Palau you get. An initiative born out of the admirable work of the Palau Legacy Project, in the humbling shadow of the highly-awarded Palau Pledge, this work seeks to address the global issue of destinations relying on tourism but feeling the impact on their fragile environments and cultures.

Ol’au is a local Palauan word inviting someone you trust into your space, which embodies the warmth and reciprocity of this initiative. The more visitors to Palau act sustainably by engaging in activities such as signing the pledge, tracking their carbon footprint, spending with eco-accredited businesses and reducing single-use plastics to name a few, the more places and exclusive experiences they will unlock; experiences traditionally reserved for locals and friends.

The initiative was announced at the 2022 Our Ocean Conference in May, hosted in Palau, with a launch film and print collateral, and the app is currently in development due for deployment and implementation by December 2022.