Palau to welcome first tourists in a year with presidential escort

Palau is opening up to visitors from Taiwan under strict Covid-safe measures, but locals still have doubts

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On Thursday, 110 people from Taiwan will be able to enjoy the thing so many around the world have been dreaming of since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic: an international holiday to a tropical island paradise.

The tiny Pacific country of Palau, in the north-west corner of the Pacific with a population of around 20,000 people, will this week begin welcoming tourists from Taiwan as part of a travel bubble.