A remote Pacific archipelago long known only to serious divers is quietly becoming one of Australia’s fastest-growing travel obsessions.
Visitation to Palau surged 87 per cent year on year from January to May 2026. May alone saw visitor numbers more than double compared to the same month last year.
Australia is now Palau’s fastest-growing source market globally, a remarkable rise fuelled in large part by the Palau Paradise Express, the direct Qantas service connecting Brisbane and Koror in under six hours.
Photo credit: Josh Burkinshaw
Kadoi Ruluked, Director of the Palau Visitors Authority, said the figures pointed to sustained, long-term growth in the Australian market.
“This level of growth tells us the Australian market is maturing. It’s not just about getting more visitors here, it’s about the calibre of visitor we’re attracting. Longer stays, deeper engagement with the destination and stronger spend in our local economy. That’s exactly the kind of growth we want to see,” Mr Ruluked said.
Image credit: Mark Fitz / Impac Tours
While Australia remains a smaller share of Palau’s total visitor mix, Aussie travellers punch well above their weight when visitor nights are factored in, placing them among the destination’s highest value visitors.
Beyond its world-class diving reputation, Palau offers far more than time spent underwater.
One of the few remaining matriarchal societies in the Pacific, where land, title and tradition are passed down through women, Palau invites visitors to kayak through the limestone Rock Islands, hike to hidden waterfalls, snorkel kaleidoscopic reefs and spot some of the region’s rarest birdlife.
Main image courtesy Josh Burkinshaw
