Sydney industry event

A destination story worth sharing

Before every visitor enters Palau, they make a promise to preserve and protect its natural and cultural heritage.

The Palau Pledge is signed by travellers and stamped into their passport, turning responsible travel into something personal, memorable and part of the journey itself.

Join us for Sustainable Tourism Spotlight: In Conversation with Palau, an intimate industry event exploring the story behind the Palau Pledge, Palau’s conservation leadership and the role agents can play in helping clients travel more responsibly.

Event: Sustainable Tourism Spotlight: In Conversation with Palau

Date: Monday 20 July

Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm

Venue: The Room Residence, The Rocks, Sydney

Presented by: Travel Daily, Room-Res and Palau Visitors Authority

Format: Moderated panel discussion, followed by networking

Register for the event
Palau scenic banner

Why this conversation matters

Responsible travel can sometimes feel like a broad idea. Palau makes it tangible.

Through the Palau Pledge, every visitor is asked to acknowledge their role in protecting the destination before they begin their journey. It is a simple but powerful act that turns conservation into a personal commitment and gives travellers a story to carry home.

For agents, this provides a more meaningful way to discuss Palau with clients. It is not just a destination known for turquoise waters, rich culture, world-class marine life and the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Rock Islands. It is a destination with a clear purpose: to welcome travellers while protecting what makes Palau so extraordinary.

This event will explore how agents can bring that story to life and how the travel industry can help clients understand the value of protecting the places they visit.

What the panel will explore

The story behind the Palau Pledge

How a passport stamp and signed promise became one of travel’s most memorable conservation messages.

A destination worth protecting

What makes Palau so extraordinary, from its marine environments and Rock Islands to its culture, community and conservation leadership.

Responsible tourism in practice

How Palau encourages travellers to think about their impact before they arrive, and how agents can help prepare clients for that experience.

How agents can tell the story

Ways to talk about Palau that go beyond natural beauty and help clients understand the promise, purpose and responsibility behind the destination.

Palau as an under-the-radar destination

What agents and their clients should know about Palau, and how it compares with other nearby tropical destinations.

Access and trade opportunity

How direct flights from Brisbane have made Palau more accessible for Australian travellers, and why packaging through the trade helps build confidence.

Who are our speakers?

Laura Clarke

Honorary Consul General –
Republic of Palau to Australia
Co-Founder – Palau Pledge

Laura Clarke

Laura will share insight into Palau’s conservation leadership, the Palau Pledge and how the destination has placed responsible travel at the heart of the visitor experience.

Onorina Fugawai

Tourism Manager, Pacific Trade Invest


Onorina Fugawai

Onorina will bring a broader Pacific tourism perspective, including product development, infrastructure, trade opportunities, and how destinations can support sustainable tourism growth.

Jo-Anne Hui-Miller

Associate Publisher, Travel Daily
Moderator

Jo-Anne Hui-Miller

Jo-Anne will moderate the discussion, guiding the conversation between destination, trade and sustainability perspectives.

Palau logo

Why Palau?

Palau is a Pacific destination with a powerful story to tell.

It offers world-class diving and snorkelling, extraordinary marine biodiversity, vibrant culture and some of the most recognisable island scenery in the world. The UNESCO World Heritage-listed Rock Islands are among its most iconic experiences, with limestone islands rising from turquoise waters surrounded by coral reefs.

But Palau’s appeal is not only about natural beauty.

The destination has built a global reputation for conservation and responsible tourism through the Palau Pledge. By asking visitors to sign a promise to act responsibly and protect the destination during their stay, Palau makes conservation part of the travel experience itself.

For the Australian travel trade, Palau offers a destination story that is both inspiring and practical: accessible, spectacular, deeply committed to sustainability, and rich in meaning for clients seeking travel that feels more thoughtful.

Travel trade visual

A stronger story for agents to share

Clients may not always ask for responsible travel in those exact words, but they do respond to stories that feel real, meaningful and memorable.

The Palau Pledge gives agents a simple and powerful way to introduce the destination: before travellers enter Palau, they make a promise to help protect it.

That idea creates a stronger client conversation. It helps position Palau not only as a beautiful island destination, but as a place where travellers can feel connected to the destination’s future.

This event will help agents better understand how to talk about Palau with confidence, how to explain the value of conservation-led tourism, and how to introduce clients to a paradise they’ll never forget, and always want to protect.

Join the conversation

This is an opportunity to hear directly from leaders connected to Palau, sustainability and tourism across the wider Pacific, while connecting with peers in an intimate setting at The Room Residence.

Join us for an evening of insight, discussion and networking as we explore the story behind the Palau Pledge and what it means for agents, clients and the future of responsible travel.

Register for the event


Spaces are limited and attendance will be confirmed by the event team.