One thousand five hundred seventy-one (1,571) tourists from the People’s Republic of China arrived in Palau last month, placing China on top once again with the largest market share since before the COVID pandemic. Following China was Taiwan, with 1,072 and 753 from the USA.
The visitor arrivals have been steadily growing, exceeding the 2022 total visitor numbers. The increase has been due to charter flights coming from Macau. There were a total of 12 flights from Macau in June.
Within the first six months of this year, arrival numbers exceeded the entire 2022, a total of $16,688. The total number of arrivals for 2022 was 12,328. The total number is still below pre-COVID arrivals, representative only 14% of 2019 arrival numbers.
“Palau is served by several airlines operating flights to the destination. United Airlines offers five weekly flights from both Guam and Manila. China Airlines operates twice a week from Taipei. Air Niugini provides a once-weekly flight from Brisbane, with a stopover in PortMoresby, Papua New Guinea. Additionally, there are charter flights operated by Lanmei and Cambodia Air, which together have conducted six flights each this month, totaling 12 flights from Macau. It’s worth mentioning that the category labeled “Others” represents air arrivals currently being sorted and matched with their respective airline codes.” Palau Visitors Authority.