Vanuatu is a nation made up of group of about 80 islands. There are about 10 bigger islands that make up the bulk of the land area of about 12,000 square kilometres. Population approximately 220,000 people. It is South of the Solomon islands, North of New Caledonia, West of Fiji and East of Australia by about 1,000 miles on a similar latitude as Cairns or Townsville. It's about 2 hours 40 minutes flight from Brisbane, 3 hours and 40 minutes from Sydney and 3 hours and 20 minutes from Auckland.

The capital is Port Vila on the island of Efate. Santo (Espiritu Santo) is the biggest island and the town of Luganville (variously known as Santo or Canal locally) is on the Southern side. That's about it for towns as most people would expect them to be like! Most of the population of Vanuatu still live a village lifestyle and some change between the two spending a few years in the towns working then going back to the village living. It's probably got a fair bit going for it.

There were missionaries and French and English settlers getting established in Vanuatu in the late 1800's and the French and British decided on a marriage of convenience when they formed a joint colonial government that was known as a Condominium (or pandemonium as it became known, can you imagine it - two judicial systems, education, health and roads - duplicated along with the bureaucratic petty rivalries!) in 1906 and in 1980 Vanuatu became independent.

The mixture of the Melanesian culture with the colonial influences of the last hundred years has produced an interesting place. The Melanesians are a very relaxed and unhurried people with a pleasant disposition. Time of day for exchanging pleasantries and conversation is more important than “the time”. This can be frustrating at times when it is important to be “on time!” but it generally works out ok. I guess my point is to bring a relaxed attitude with you when you come here on holidays. It's no good to bring big city “hurry up” attitudes here. You will only end up getting yourself all hot and bothered, and guess what - you will be the only one.

The main earners of foreign exchange for Vanuatu are tourism the finance sector and agriculture. Aid projects are also important to the economy as well. There are no income taxes for individuals or companies in Vanuatu and there is an offshore finance sector although it is small when compared to other places that are regarded as tax havens. The government raises revenue with a VAT of 12.5% and import duties and business license fees along with other fees and changes.

So, although it is a tax haven in Vanuatu the government still has to raise revenue somehow so you end up paying in different ways. There are some monopoly situations that make it costly to do business here. For example the electricity costs about 50 cents (AUD) per kilowatt hour or about 5 times as much as households generally pay in Australia. The Port Vila electricity supply is produced by diesel generators and is a good reliable service. Phones and internet are also more expensive but a good service provided. Imported items are generally more expensive and the locally grown produce can be plentiful and cheap in season. The beef here is good and not expensive.

So, this is only a very brief description of Vanuatu. You can find out more by going to the links page and following some of the links for much more information about Vanuatu and Port Vila.

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