China travel ban to Palau

[DougieG]

Hi everyone:

Just ran across this interesting article. Looks like Palau tourism overall is declining because of the Chinese travel ban. Perhaps the popular dive sites will be less crowded. Any other thoughts about how this might affect the diving and travel in Palau?

Palau taking new approach to tourism following China's travel ban

 

[borisphotosafari]

Wow, haven't heard that. I bet it bites all the hotels. Time to look for a deal and return to Palau.

 

[skubadoo]

That's good news for the reefs and environment, the reefs take a beating with so many people going there.

 

[darook]

The first time I went to Palau we were scheduled to stay at Sea Passion but a couple of months out it was acquired by a Chinese firm and they made it clear to the travel company that non-Chinese reservations would not be honored. We were able to move over to the much nicer and more convenient Palau Royal Resort for just a little more money. PRR is part of the Hotel Nikko chain out of Japan and is very nice. Sea Passion and the hotel just across the bridge from it seemed to be catering exclusively to mainland Chinese clients. I wonder what their business model is now?

 

[tursiops]

I'm in Palau right now. The Chinese restaurants are mostly empty. Sad.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Please tell us more!

 

[Centrals]

Any other thoughts about how this might affect the diving and travel in Palau?

When I first went to Palau yrs ago there were hardly any mainland chinese divers except those working at Karaoke bar as hostess!! Any Chinese divers then came from Republic of China(Taiwan to some of you).
With less divers the demand for fresh water will be significantly reduced, can't be bad for everyone. The disappearance of certain national would have no impact on those diver operators/resorts who have been around for many yrs.

When South Korea decided to install The Terminal High Altitude Area Defense Anti-missiles System(THAAD) last year. Same thing happened!!!

 

[PalauDiver]

The general consensus in Palau is that the reduction in Chinese tourism is a good thing. One of the big problems is that most of the mainland Chinese tourists are completely packaged and do not spend any money in the local economy. Their numbers and disregard for etiquette around the reef does not help the situation. The incident in 2015 with a large Chinese flag being over the wreck of the Iro caused an international incident with the Japanese, the other large tourism base for Palau. There are a lot of politicians in Palau who make vast sums of money from the Chinese but the benefits are definitely not felt by all.

 

[darook]

Any Chinese divers then came from Republic of China(Taiwan to some of you).

I'm old school, I still call it Formosa.

 

[ladra]

Whether folks at Palau know it or not, the Chinese travel ban is a good thing for Palau's environment (and for other divers). Anyone who has seen how Chinese, mainland Chinese, behave will understand.

Time to book a flight to Palau. NICE!