Page 10 - IB September 2024

Tourism Tourism

THE “PALAUAN DREAM”

RE-ENVISIONING THE FUTURE OF

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN PALAU

Palau’s Rock Islands, the country’s most famous tourism destination. Photo: PF Bentley

By Axel Defngin asked whether the Palauan Dream truly exists in practice.
“Reality catches up to us really fast.”
Palau’s tourism industry may be slowly recovering, but Another Palauan high-school student working on a degree in
there are concerns that its young people are not participating mechanics, and whose brother majored in tourism studies but
in the sector, instead leaving for opportunities in the United migrated to the United States for work, echoed this concern.
States. “I mean, there’s opportunities, but they’re not enough,” he
“The Palauan Dream is not in the US,” Managing Director of said. “[My brother] has a really good paying job now. He’s not
the Palau Visitors Authority (PVA), Kadoi Ruluked told a recent coming back.”
workshop in Koror. “The Palauan Dream is in Palau, it’s here … Vivien Ngirarsaol Protine, President of the Palau Chamber
So why go out there to look for paradise, it’s right here.” of Commerce (PCC), believes there’s lots of opportunities
In 2022, Palau’s President Surangel Whipps, noted that: for young Palauans, “We just need to get creative,” she said,
“One of our challenges is we have so many young people in while speaking at the ‘Telling Your Pacific Story’ workshop.
Palau move to the United States in search of the American “It’s just a confidence level - building up our people and
Dream. We want to create the Palauan Dream, where we can letting our people know that you can do this,” Protine added.
encourage our young people to come back in.” The PVA is taking its efforts into Palauan schools.
President Whipps’ advocacy for the Palauan Dream is linked “There are a lot of great job opportunities in the hotel
with his strategy to resist external influences, particularly industry, in the tour industry,” Ruluked said,
from the People’s Republic of China. He has recently accused “We’ve successfully partnered with a private company,
China of “weaponising” tourism to pressure Palau into the Four Seasons. So we are working with the [Ministry of
severing ties with the Republic of China (Taiwan). The Palauan Education] to identify who has taken the basic [ocean] dive
Dream represents not only economic self-reliance but also a courses…then transitioning them to Four Seasons for their
declaration of autonomy in the face of global power struggles. advanced dive certification. Today, we’ve certified about 51
Yet young Palauans continue to leave the country for what students.”
they perceive as better opportunities in the US. He continued: “This is your opportunity to come and be a
Young Palauan college students voice concerns of limited dive guide, a tour guide…So that the business and everything
job prospects, economic hardships, and the out-migration for tourism is for the local people. The opportunity is there.
of their family and peers in pursuit of better opportunities Don’t go and look elsewhere.”
abroad. Under the laws of the nation, only Palauans can own
Palau Community College student, Adora Ililau, 22, said tourism-related businesses like boat and diving operations.
she has not heard of any tourism jobs or opportunities by the However, as the industry recovers post-COVID, participation
tourism industry aimed at Palauan youth. by foreigners remains high. And some are concerned that the
“You don’t have time to dream,” Ililau remarked when shift to high-value tourism means the benefits of tourism are

10 Islands Business, September 2024