Palau president visits Taiwan to open ‘Asia’s first travel bubble’ between two ‘Covid-safe’ destinations

Under the bubble plan, Taiwanese visitors to Palau will have minimal contact with locals, staying at designated hotels and shopping only at pre-set times

Palau President Surangel Whipps will be on the first flight of Taiwanese tourists to his country on Thursday; the plan is for 16 flights a week eventually

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A young visitor dives in Nikko Bay, Palau. A travel corridor between the island nation in Micronesia and Taiwan is set to open this week. Palau is one of the few places in the world to have recorded no cases of Covid-19, and Taiwan has had relatively few cases. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 11:19am, 29 Mar 2021Updated: 5:59pm, 2 Apr 2021

Palau’s leader flew into Taiwan on Sunday as the two coronavirus-free allies prepare to launch a travel corridor and boost their pandemic-hit tourist sectors.

A charter flight carrying President Surangel Whipps and a delegation including United States ambassador to the country John Hennessey-Niland landed in Taipei for the start of a four-day visit and to kick off what the two sides are billing as Asia’s first travel bubble.

“I believe [the travel bubble] will be the first between two, I will call, Covid-free, Covid-safe countries,” Whipps said at the airport.

Whipps would meet Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, attend a Palau tourism promotional event as well as visit shipbuilding and aquaculture companies, Taipei’s foreign ministry said. He is set to return to Palau on Thursday with a group of 110 Taiwanese tourists on the first of the weekly vacation flights that will operate under the plan.

Palau President Surangel Whipps greets Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu as he arrives at Taoyuan International Airport in Taiwan. Photo: Reuters

The plan is to eventually have 16 flights a week on the route, a major lifeline for Palau’s economy, which before the pandemic relied on tourism for more than half its gross domestic product. Whipps told Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) ahead of his visit that “it’s important to get tourism back in operation” and demonstrate to the world that the travel corridor can work.