Palau attends LA Scuba Show 2024

On June 1-2, 2024 the Palau Visitors Authority(PVA) was well represented during this year’s prestigious 2024 Scuba Show in bustling Downtown Los Angeles. The PVA team consisted of Board members: Chairman Jackson Doktok, Secretary Des Matsutaro, and Airai Governor Norman Ngiratecheboet. Additionally, Strategic Planning Department Manager Sharrise Ngiraked, Digital Marketing Rep Kiruu Kanai and PVA Ambassador Ms. Kayla Iechad.

The 2024 Scuba Show was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center, a venue with over 80,000 square feet of exhibit space where hundreds of exhibitors, seminars, clinics hosted by industry experts, and much more took place! In attendance alongside PVA was Palau Dive Adventures, Fish n Fins, Sam’s Tours and Peleliu Adventures. Hundreds of people came eager to gather information about Palau in particular, how to get here, where to stay and what to do both in and out of the water. Many past guests stopped by the booth to share their experiences here in Palau and why they love it out of all the places they have visited for diving.

Palau proudly placed #1 for the 2024 Reader’s Choice Awards in five different Destination categories of the Scuba Diving Magazine.

Big Animals

Cave, Cavern and Grotto

Wall Diving

Advanced Diving

Health of Marine Environment

Palau also placed in the top 10 destinations for Best Overall, Macro Life, Wreck Diving, Beginner Diving, Photography, and Snorkeling.

While in LA the PVA team was invited by Mrs. Laura Lee McChesney to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific: Tropical Reef Habitat, which can be viewed from three locations in the gallery, is the Aquarium’s largest exhibit. Holding 350,000 gallons of water, this exhibit features over a thousand colorful fish and beautiful coral, including sea turtles, zebra sharks and porcupine puffers. Laura Lee informed the team that this exhibit was modeled after Palau’s famous dive site Blue Corner and installed when the aquarium first opened in 1998.

“...Considered by many to be among the most beautiful in the world, Palau’s waters contain an incredible diversity of coral, fish, and other colorful marine life. The 16 exhibits in the Aquarium’s Tropical Pacific Gallery represent the beautiful marine life you would find off the coast of Palau…”- Aquarium of the Pacific Tropical Reef Habitat, Aquarium of the Pacific