” the hotels would be rewarded by the government for their assistance with “ the necessary tax breaks and exemptions , ” said remengesau .
next story : the president of palau has proposed a new law that will allow only five - star hotels to open up on its islands , essentially closing them to all but the wealthiest visitors .
palau government halved the number of
president remengesau says the proposed law focuses on " quality rather than quantity " , and he makes clear that palau wants to attract big spenders , marianas variety reports .
the archipelago is particularly popular with chinese tourists , who visit on package holidays – but they are notorious for spending little money locally .
president tommy remengesau wants to rebrand the pacific island state as a luxury destination and is proposing a new law that would allow only five - star hotel developments in future , radio new zealand international reports .
“ it ’s kind of a win - win situation for palau , a remote republic in oceania , is pure bounty advert territory , with pristine beaches , world - class scuba diving , and forest - covered volcanic islands .
tommy remengesau has expressed his desire for a “ quality rather than quantity ” tourism strategy – focusing on travellers with more cash to spend – after concerns were raised about the effects of mass tourism on the islands .
the biggest increase has been among chinese tour groups , and in 2015 the government announced it was halving the number of charter flights arriving from china .