By: Eoghan Olkeriil Ngirudelsang

Koror, Palau – The number of tourists visiting Palau in July saw a decline compared to the previous month of June. A total of 4,826 tourists visited Palau in June, but the figure dropped to 4,692 in July.

Efforts to obtain these tourist arrival figures from the Palau Visitors Authority (PVA) were unsuccessful. The PVA stated that they are waiting for relevant government agencies to provide the numbers, attributing the delay to a systems upgrade by those agencies.

However, according to the agencies responsible for compiling tourist data, the Immigration Office reported that the figures had long been available. The Planning and Statistics Office also confirmed that the numbers are accessible and will soon be published on the national government’s website.

The data revealed a decline in tourists from the U.S. and Canada, dropping from 1,189 in June to 842 in July. South Korean visitors also decreased from 57 to 35, and tourists categorized as “Others” fell from 481 to 415.

Despite these declines, there was an increase in visitors from Japan, Europe, and China in July. Japanese tourists rose from 216 to 286, while European visitors increased from 91 to 131. Chinese tourists represented the largest increase, with numbers rising from 1,194 in June to 1,709 in July — an increase of 515 visitors.

On the other hand, the number of tourists from Taiwan dropped, with over 300 fewer Taiwanese visitors in July compared to June. The figures show a decline from 1,596 to 1,274.

Observers attribute this drop to a June 17 incident at Palau’s international airport, where a Taiwanese woman was subjected to a strip search, prompting her to leave the country in distress. The woman, surnamed Li, later held a press conference in front of Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), accusing Palau customs officials of conducting an unjust and humiliating search. She called on MOFA to negotiate with Palau’s government to improve customs inspection practices.