Palau's leader flew into Taiwan on Sunday (Mar 28) as the two coronavirus-free allies prepare to launch a travel corridor to boost their pandemic-hit tourist sectors.

A charter flight carrying President Surangel Whipps landed at Taoyuan international airport for the start of a four-day visit and to kick off what the two sides are billing as Asia's first travel bubble.

Whipps will 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 weekly vacation flights.

The plan is to eventually have 16 flights a week on the route, a major lifeline for Palau's economy that before the pandemic relied on tourism for more than half its gross domestic product.

Palau, which lies about 1,000km east of the Philippines, is one of the few places on Earth never to have recorded a COVID-19 case.

The travel bubble is partly due to Palau's special relationship with Taiwan.

It is one of only 15 nations worldwide to offer Taipei diplomatic recognition in the face of China's long-standing claim that Taiwan is part of its territory.

Whipps said strict measures would be enforced to protect Palau's 18,000-strong population.

Taiwanese visitors must undergo pre-flight coronavirus checks, they can travel only in tour groups and are barred from making individual excursions.

Contact with Palau locals will be kept to a minimum, with tourists staying at designated hotels, eating in separate restaurant areas and allowed to shop only at set times.

Taiwan - population 23 million - has been hailed as an example in containing the virus, with fewer than 1,020 confirmed cases and 10 deaths.

Taiwanese officials said the 110 slots in the first tour group to Palau were sold out.

Whipps has acknowledged no system is foolproof but said Taiwanese health authorities had calculated that the chance of COVID-19 reaching Palau via the travel bubble was one in four million.