International tourists to the island nation of Vanuatu, no quarantine, no limit on the number of people entering

Million Dollar Point (“Million Dollar Point”) strangely “encrusted with coral” on the seabed

Vanuatu’s population is just over 307,000 people, of which more than 40,000 people are concentrated on the largest island of Espirutu Santo. Off the coast of Espirutu Santo island, there is the famous diving destination Million Dollar Point (“Million Dollar Point”), attracting divers and tourists to discover the unique beauty of rusty “coral-encrusted” vehicles. under the sea.

Vanuatu is an island nation consisting of 83 islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand and east of Australia, in the Melanesia subregion of Oceania. (Photo: devpolicy.org)

The name Million Dollar Point (“Million Dollar Point”) comes from the giant scrap yard, which includes hundreds of tons of military equipment from military trucks, Jeeps, bulldozers, tractors to countless boxes of clothes. and unopened Coca Cola… worth millions of dollars, dumped into the sea since World War 2.

During World War II, the island of Espirutu Santo was used by the United States as a major military supply and support base, as well as the headquarters of naval and army units operating in the Pacific. It is the second largest US base in the Pacific after the largest in Hawaii, with more than 40,000 troops permanently stationed.

Over time, Million Dollar Point (“Million Dollar Point”) became one of the Top “Hot” tourist destinations in Vanuatu. (Image: Getty)

As a supply base, it has everything needed to maintain a fighting force, including weapons, furniture, clothing, food and drink. When the war ended, the US side faced a big problem of how to deal with the “million dollar” amount of military equipment accumulated on Vanuatu’s Espirutu Santo island.

Due to the high cost of transportation, it is too expensive to send those “million-dollar” equipment to the US, while priority should be given to bringing US military forces home as soon as possible. Negotiating to sell those “million-dollar” equipment to the French and British side, which have sovereignty over Espirutu Santo island, failed, the US side decided to dump it all into the sea.

The unique beauty of rusty vehicles “encrusted with coral” on the seabed at Million Dollar Point (“Million Dollar Point”). (photo: airvanuatu)

So the locals could only watch in amazement as American servicemen drove trucks, Jeeps, ambulances, bulldozers and tractors to the steep road leading down to the sea every day. They jumped out at the last minute, letting the car plunge into the sea on its own.

Over time, this place became Million Dollar Point (“Million Dollar Point”) – one of the Top “Hot” tourist destinations in Vanuatu.

The island nation of Vanuatu with an impressive rate of 0.27 tourists per resident

(Champagne Beach is one of the most attractive beaches in the South Pacific region, having welcomed about 1 million tourists on boat tours and 300,000 people arriving by plane in 2017. (Photo: vanuatu.com) .au)

Another destination that is also very “Hot” is Champagne beach (Champagne Beach). With crystal clear water and fine white sand beaches, it is favored by many tourists, the most are Australians.

International tourists come to Vanuatu by boat tour. (Photo: Dreamstime)

In addition, Espirutu Santo Island also has many interesting things for tourists to explore such as: Caves in the “Western Side” area; Loru rainforest reserve where there are many species of birds, plants and most especially marine species living in coral reefs 2km long…

Vanuatu dancers perform traditional Naluandance dance to welcome tourists. (Photo: Vanuatu Department of Tourism)

According to the latest data compiled in early May 2022, despite being affected by Covid-19, Vanuatu still welcomes 82,400 international tourists in 2020. With a rate of 0.27 tourists per resident, Vanuatu 81st in the world and 1st in tourism in the Melanesia subregion of Oceania.