Hands up if you googled "where is Niue?" when you heard about the world's "loneliest duck", Trevor the Mallard?

Key points: Before Trevor the duck went viral, Niue was fairly unknown

Before Trevor the duck went viral, Niue was fairly unknown Now there are concerns a tourism boost could be too much for the island

Now there are concerns a tourism boost could be too much for the island After Air New Zealand launched a second flight last year tourism industry skyrocketed

When the results came up you may have quickly found yourself dreaming about a tropical island getaway, to a place with glittering turquoise waters and palm trees swaying in the wind.

A cynic would say the mysterious story of how a mallard duck made its way to a coral atoll in the Pacific ocean, without wetlands or ponds, is in fact a stroke of marketing brilliance.

"I think Trevor is an excellent ambassador for Niue and the reason I say that, is that he has raised the profile of people globally who may or may not have been aware of Niue's existence beforehand," Felicity Bollen, chief executive officer of Niue Tourism, told the ABCs Pacific Beat program.

"We pride ourselves on being a funny, quirky little island and he fits with the quirkiness, so he's a perfect fit from a marketing perspective for our country."

Locals seem to agree the duck cannot stay in its ever-vanishing puddle forever. ( Supplied: NZ Herald/Claire Trevett )

But she insists her marketing team isn't responsible.

"I wish I'd had the brilliance to think of it myself but no, he literally just showed up one day and I've actually just driven past him … he looked quite happy this morning, splashing around in his puddle, surrounded by some resident roosters," Ms Bollen said.

"He seems to have taken to it, dare I say, like a duck to water."

Map Niue is an Island in the South Pacific

The Niue Premier is a fan too of the island's new ambassador, and has dismissed suggestions that Trevor might need to be sent to New Zealand to help him overcome his loneliness.

"We're not going to bother about sending it, it's very happy to be here so I'm happy to have it here," Premier Toke Talagi told Pacific Beat.

In fact, he's open to finding a companion for Trevor.

"I think we might have to get another duck to give it a bit of companionship."

The duck is widely known as "Trevor", after New Zealand's speaker of the House of Representatives, Trevor Mallard. ( Supplied: Tala Niue Facebook Page )

Global interest could be too much of a good thing

But jokes and humour aside, Ms Bollen is clear that while the global attention is welcome, the small island is actually at risk of having too many tourists.

Until March this year, there was just one flight per week to Niue, from Auckland.

But it has had one of the world's fastest rates of tourism growth in the past year, thanks largely to the introduction of a second flight.

Niue is full of natural attractions like the Talava Arches. ( Flickr: Anthony Sowerby )

The majority are from New Zealand but Ms Bollen says numbers from Australia have been increasing.

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"Since 2009, we've more than doubled our numbers and in the last year we've gone from 11,000 to 16,000 passengers," Ms Bollen said.

That's particularly significant when you consider Niue's permanent population stands at just 1,600 and its total area is just 261 square kilometres, which is a similar size to Broken Hill.

"We are very mindful of the fact that the reason that people come to our beautiful country is because of its pristine natural environment, and we need to retain that at all costs," Ms Bollen said.

"The impact that it has had already on our infrastructure, the pressure it's putting on our infrastructure is becoming evident so yep, we're watching it very carefully."

The increased numbers are straining the island's waste management system and water and power resources.

A team arrives in Niue this weekend to undertake a carrying capacity survey, to determine the number of tourists Niue can realistically deal with into the future.

"I think we will probably be one of the first countries in the Pacific to cap our [tourist] numbers," she said.

Niue is a small coral atoll in the South Pacific, with just 1,600 permanent residents. ( Flickr: Anthony Sowerby )

The small Micronesian nation of Palau in the Western Pacific, which has a population of just 20,000, also recently moved to limit the number of tourists it welcomes, with similar concerns about the impact mass tourism, particularly by large Chinese group bookings, was having on the natural environment.

It also became the first country introduce a mandatory pledge for all tourists to make on arrival, to help protect and preserve the island nation.

So what does that mean for those who were ready to book their flights and pack their bags, to visit Niue and Trevor the Duck?

"Maybe what I can do is get some postcards made of Trevor and send them out to interested people. He's got his own Facebook page with regular updates," Ms Bollen said.

"We may have to do that. That's the price that we'll pay for retaining our cultural integrity and environmental integrity."