About Us
Welcome toĀ Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide, your ultimate travel companion for exploring Wallis and Futuna. Founded by Robin and Laura, Wallis and Futuna Pocket Guide is a labour of love and passion for sharing the hidden gems of these breathtaking islands.
Our Values
At Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide, weāre not chasing likes or superficial trends on social media. Instead, our mission is to deliver factual and insightful information derived from rigorous research, firsthand experiences and journalistic integrity. Weāre here to assist travellers from all backgrounds in planning their journey to Wallis and Futuna, going beyond the allure of pretty photos to offer practical guidance.
Our core values form the foundation of our work:
- Empowering Local Tourism Businesses: We strive to promote local tourism enterprises, advertisers or not, recognising their invaluable contributions to Wallis and Futuna.
- Comprehensive Representation: We present our readers with a complete overview of tourism operators and accommodations. That way, they have diverse options that suit their preferences and needs.
- Inclusivity: Our platform caters to travellers, no matter your nationality and socio-economic background, providing a range of options to facilitate enjoyable experiences for all.
- Informed Decision-Making: We empower travellers to make informed decisions by offering transparent and unbiased information, enabling them to create personalised itineraries that align with their interests.
- Sustainable Travel: We advocate for a positive relationship between travellers and destinations, emphasising the importance of environmental conservation and social responsibility in travel experiences.
- Thorough Fact-Checking: Our team consists of seasoned journalists who thoroughly fact-check all the information we receive. We personally experience most activities and services ourselves to ensure we provide accurate firsthand insights.
More about our standards can be viewed on ourĀ Editorial Standards Page.
Why Trust Us For Your Trip to Wallis & Futuna?
Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide isnāt just another travel website; itās built on real, on-the-ground experience. Our team spends 1-2 weeks in Wallis and Futuna every year, staying in accommodations, taking tours and testing travel services first-hand to ensure every recommendation is worth your time.
Our Journalistic Approach
We meet strict journalistic standards, fact-checking every detail and keeping our content up to date. Unlike AI-generated articles or crowd-sourced reviews, our insights come from genuine research and professionalism, because great travel advice should be as reliable as it is inspiring. Learn more about our AI Policy here.
Trusted by Credible Organisations
Government organisations like theĀ Wallis et Futuna TourismeĀ trust us to provide accurate, independent advice.Ā Weāve also partnered with theĀ Pacific Tourism OrganisationĀ since 2019. These partnerships help us bring you the most up-to-date and credible travel information.
Trusted By Our Readers
With thousands of readers each year, Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide is Wallis and Futunaās most trusted travel resource. Donāt just take our word for it: glowing reviews onĀ TrustpilotĀ and social media prove that travellers rely on us to plan their dream trip with confidence.
On the Ground Experience
Not only have we travelled Wallis and Futuna extensively but we return for one month each year, ensuring we always have a pulse on the tourism landscape.
Journalistic Standards
Our team are qualified journalists, bringing professionalism and a more objective perspective on travel experiences in Wallis and Futuna. See Our Standards page to learn more.
Government Partnerships
We work with official sources, including the Wallis et Futuna Tourisme and SPTO, to ensure our advice is something you can rely on.
Readers Feedback
According to our readers' survey across all of our Pocket Guides, we have 95% reader satisfaction rate. We're pretty pleased with that, and we love to hear about ways we can improve.
Next Level Readership
Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide is still pretty new, so we're still waiting for stats on our yearly readership. In the meantime, our Pocket Guides for other nations enjoy over 10M readers each year. That's a fair few people who like what we do.
4.7 Stars on Trustpilot
The best people to describe who we are and what we do are our amazing website readers and TikTok and YouTube viewers. See what they have to say (and have your say) over on Trustpilot.
Our Collaborations: Working with the Best to Bring You the Best
At Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide, weāre proud to have strong relationships with a diverse range of organisations and companies, from nationally recognised institutions to small family-run businesses. Whether itās partnering with major government bodies, such as theĀ Wallis et Futuna Tourisme or working with independent operators, weāre passionate about creating authentic, reliable and accessible content for travellers.
Partnering with Institutions
Our collaborations with institutions allow us to pass on vital information, such as government policies, regulations and conservation initiatives, in an easy-to-understand and engaging way. From detailed articles on our website to information-rich videos on our TikTok and YouTube channels, we ensure their messages reach and resonate with our audience.
Supporting Local Businesses
We equally value our partnerships with smaller operators, including āMom and Popā shops and boutique companies. The Wallisian and Futunan tourism industry wouldnāt be what it is today without these incredible businesses for us to showcase.
A Growing Network of Partners
Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide is in its early stages of development but we can't wait for the privilege of working with local organisations and businesses across Wallis and Futuna, creating a collaborative ecosystem that helps travellers plan unforgettable experiences while staying informed about the countryās tourism landscape and travel regulations.
Our Team
(The awkward part where we write about ourselves).
Robin and Laura, alongside a team of dedicated travel writers, spearhead our efforts to provide travellers with a comprehensive and authentic travel guide.
Their experience of extensively travelling Wallis and Futuna each and every year, combined with an honorary journalism background, brings a wealth of knowledge and insights to Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide.
Laura (Editor-in-Chief)
Laura is the content wizard behind Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide. A trained journalist and editor-in-chief of eight additional travel guides for the South Pacific and the South Pacific Pocket Guide YouTube Channel, she ensures that your eyes and ears only receive content of the highest standard.Ā Learn more about Laura.
Robin (Operations Manager)
ā¦ And unofficial āTravel Managerā, Robin knows all things logistics when it comes to planning a trip to Wallis and Futuna. He consistently liaises with key stakeholders in the local tourism industry and relays vital information to viewers/readers on both Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide and our TikTok and YouTube channels.Ā Learn more about Robin.
Plus, learn more about the rest of the team behind Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide over in our Authors page.
Our Sustainability Commitment
At Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide, we believe responsible travel starts with informed choices. As anĀ SPTO-recognisedĀ guide, we showcase all options but prioritise:
- Eco-conscious operators
- Locally owned tours and accommodations
- Reducing over-tourismĀ by promoting lesser-visited areas
Beyond travel recommendations, we take action:
- OurĀ servers run on fossil-fuel-free energy
- WeĀ minimise travel impactĀ by researching locally and batching research trips to avoid unnecessary flights
- Our booking system contributes 1% of each booking to a local environmental charity (coming soon)
- We contribute toĀ environmental and social initiativesĀ across theĀ South PacificĀ ā learn more in our regional guides found atĀ SouthPacificPocketGuide.com
Sustainability isnāt just a commitment ā itās how we operate.
The Story of Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide
Our labour of love began in 2014 with a clear mission: to sustainably guide travellers across the South Pacific. Hereās our journey:
2014-18: Launch of NZ Pocket Guide and Fiji Pocket Guide ā Our First South Pacific Pocket Guides
- NZ Pocket Guide, formerly BackpackerGuide.NZ, was our first travel guide created for the South Pacific.
- We focused on sustainability and low impact from the outset.
- The site grew rapidly, reaching over 250,000 travellers in the first year, defying our expectations and showing a working proof of concept that could be applied to smaller South Pacific regions.
- With this shift in focus, Laura went from solely creating content to building a flexible travel writing team and a fact-based editorial line. In the meantime, Robin got a web-dev team together to expand our travel guide expertise beyond New Zealand.
- We launchedĀ Fiji Pocket Guide, expanding our reach to other Pacific nations.
Our journey continued with a focus on partnership and local engagement:
2019-2020: Local Partnerships and COVID Adaptation
- This was the first year (of many!) we partnered with the SPTO to promote sustainable tourism in the Pacific.
- We launchedĀ Niue Pocket GuideĀ andĀ Tonga Pocket GuideĀ in collaboration with local governments.
- We ranĀ small-scale sustainable tourism programs, which were incredibly fulfilling in Tonga and Niue.
- COVID-19 hit, so we updated our content to reflect the changing landscapes of travel during the pandemic.
Skipping to post-pandemic and looking to the future, weāve not slowed down, continuing to share the beauty of the Pacific:
2022-2026 and Beyond: Launch of Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide and Continuous Engagement
- We launched Samoa Pocket Guide,Ā Cook Islands Pocket Guide, American Samoa Pocket Guide and then Vanuatu Pocket Guide.
- Working with the Wallis et Futuna Tourisme, we are set to conduct our first extensive on-the-ground research, covering Wallis, Futuna and Alofi.
- Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide will officially launch in May 2026!
And, of course, we are looking forward to more adventures and guides in the coming years.
Whether youāre an adventure seeker, a nature lover, a cultural explorer or simply seeking a tranquil retreat, Wallis & Futuna Pocket Guide is your biggest source of Wallis and Futuna trip-planning information with more than 200 articles. Join us in creating meaningful connections between travellers and this breathtaking destination. Free. Independent. For everyone.
To become a contributor, advertise or provide feedback, please refer to ourĀ Contact Page.