Palau Pledge
Palau Legacy Project
Issue 47 | June 2018
Agency
Host/Havas
Creative Team
Executive Creative Directors Seamus Higgins, Stu Turner Creative Directors Gustavo Vampre, Paul Bootlis Digital Creative Director Josh Bryer Senior Art Directors Gustavo Vampre, Stu Alexander Senior Copywriters Paul Bootlis, Daniel Fryer Head of Design Darren Cole Senior Designer Nic Adamovich Digital Designer Dylan Reid Designers Michael Macgregor, Serlina Wong Senior Finished Artist/ Designer Pip Snelling
Production Team
Inflight Film Production Company Yukfoo ROYGBIV Sound Designer Abigail Sie Composer Jed Kurzel TV & Video Editor Beau Simmons Senior Broadcast Producer Ros Payne Senior Print Producer Thea Clausen Senior Digital Producer Andrew Sambell Digital Producer Megan Evans UX & Design Director Adam Shutler
Other Credits
Client Business Director Alex Ball Account Manager Maggie de Goede Social Director Mark McKissock Senior Digital Strategist Shea Warnes UX Red Agency (PR) Rhys Hobbs Head of Consumer Adam Freedman Senior Account Managers Katie Lettice, Jackie Holt Senior Account Executives Andrea Philips, Caroline Jeffery Account Executives Madeline Mullins, Sarah Dillon
Date
December 2017
Background
Palau, a Western Pacific island-nation, had seen a massive growth in tourist numbers, particularly in the previous three years. The Palau Legacy Project, a tourism marketing body that worked alongside the government, recognised that without action it would be too late to protect some of the most unique parts of the country, such as the UNESCO World Heritage listed Rock Islands.
The challenge was to find a balance between encouraging tourism without compromising the environment. The brief was to partner with the government, the Palau people and the tourist industry to model and promote sustainable attitudes and behaviours.
Idea
To promote personal responsibility and encourage sustainable actions, a bold, permanent new entry visa process was created. All arriving visitors MUST now sign a pledge, stamped in their passports, to be good environmental stewards. This mandatory agreement, dedicated to Palau’s children, had to be signed before an officer. Visitors were required to read and sign the agreement in front of the officer to gain entry. The Palau Government passed a new law on December 6, 2017, directing immigration officials to use the Palau Pledge entry visa stamp. Immigration law and customs processes were changed permanently.
The Pledge was issued in English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean.
In addition, all visitors were required to watch an inflight film shown on all inbound flights. A business accreditation program was created to empower tourism businesses/ residents. A new curriculum for primary and secondary school students was designed to help build eco-awareness. Local people and tour operators were encouraged to take the pledge themselves.
Legal action could be taken against visitors who violated the environmental laws underpinning the Pledge, including fining offenders up to USD $1 million. The Palau Pledge showed tourists they had a role in protecting Palau by travelling responsibly.
Results
Launched at the UN, the Pledge has garnered enormous coverage for Palau’s conservation efforts. Its social, cultural, and political impact is local and global.
Over 2 million tourists will sign the Pledge within the first 10 years.
In the first weeks of launch, the Pledge achieved 1.7 billion earned media impressions for $0 spend. It has been endorsed by global organisations including the UN, the World Economic Forum, Greenpeace, World Wildlife Fund, Conservation International and by Leonardo DiCaprio and John Kerry (Former US Secretary of State) to name a few.
Palau is the first country to incorporate environmental practices into its immigration laws. Now other nations, including New Zealand, have expressed interest in creating their own visitor pledge.
Our Thoughts
What a brilliant way to catapult a tiny nation many of you had never heard of before into public consciousness. In setting out to protect Palau’s eco-system, the Pledge suggests that the archipelago of some 200 little islands is still relatively unspoiled.
A visit to the website endorses this with photos of jade-coloured seas and tiny island hideaways. In fact, it’s called the Pristine Paradise by some.
If I’ve spent 20 minutes browsing Palau, then so have a million others. Let’s hope that the end result of this beautifully analogue idea is not an influx of too many tourists.