Tuvalu Become a Travel Agent Near Me

You have to go considerably out of your way to wind up in tiny Tuvalu. This country of nine far-flung islands and atolls is one of the least-visited places in the South Pacific. It does have standard tropical scenery, with plenty of beaches, lagoons and palm trees. And traditional life on its more remote islands is largely untouched by the modern world. Still, we're not sure most travelers will feel that a journey to Tuvalu is worth the money it costs to get there.

Of those who do make it to Tuvalu, few have the means to venture beyond the capital, Funafuti, because the only practical way to visit the inhabited outlying islands is by private yacht: Local boat service is infrequent, and there are no functioning airstrips on any island other than Funafuti.

Geography

History

It's believed that the first Polynesian migrants landed on the islands that now comprise Tuvalu around 2,000 years ago. The first European to happen upon the islands was the Spanish explorer Mendana, who visited the islands twice, in 1568 and 1595. It was almost 200 years before Europeans stopped by again. Whalers and traders frequented the seas around Tuvalu during the 19th century, and Britain finally took control in 1892, naming the group the Ellice Islands. Tuvalu was, until 1975, administratively linked with Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands) by the British. Three years after its separation from Kiribati, Tuvalu attained full independence from Great Britain.

Tuvalu has received substantial foreign assistance for infrastructure projects on Funafuti. The roads and runway have been paved, street lighting installed and an airport terminal built. In 2003, Japan constructed a new public hospital, and in 2004 Taiwan paid for a huge government office building opposite the airport. Development on the outer islands has lagged behind.

Snapshot

Potpourri

Tuvalu joined the United Nations in 2000, thanks to the Internet. Each country is given a national domain designation that goes at the end of Internet addresses of Web sites that are registered in that country—or are routed through it. Tuvalu's designation is ".tv." The country struck a deal with a California-based company, dotTV, which paid Tuvalu US$22 million for the rights to ".tv." Tuvalu has used part of this windfall to pay its membership dues to the U.N.

Even though the country consists of nine islands, its name means "eight standing together." Eight of the nine islands and atolls that make up Tuvalu were long inhabited. The ninth one, tiny Niulakita, was only permanently settled in 1949.

The deep "borrow" pits where wartime engineers "borrowed" coral to build the airport runway are now filled with rubbish and water, providing perfect breeding areas for rats and mosquitoes. Discussions about filling the pits have been going on for several decades. Tuvalu is seeking payment from the U.S. for damage done to the atoll.

If global warming continues, the phenomenon could conceivably raise the world's sea level to the point that Tuvalu will disappear from sight entirely—the highest spot on the islands is 15 ft/5 m above sea level. Some farmers have already reported sea water flooding their fields. New Zealand has agreed to accept Tuvaluan "refugees" as the oceans continue to rise.

There are no museums in Tuvalu.

Nearly all—98%—of the residents of Tuvalu are Protestant.

Literacy in Tuvalu is quite high—more than 96% of the adult population can read.

The biggest celebrations in Tuvalu take place on 1 and 2 October, when the islands celebrate their independence with two days of traditional music, dancing and food.

Bomb Day recalls 23 April 1943 when 680 Funafuti residents were saved by an American corporal who ordered them out of a large stone church where they had taken refuge from a Japanese air raid. Ten minutes later a Japanese bomb went through the roof and destroyed the church's interior.

Waste management has become a serious problem on Funafuti. Imported tin and plastic packaging doesn't biodegrade the way coconut shells, banana peels and fish bones once did. Unsightly garbage dumps have appeared at the ends of main roads, and litter is strewn along the lagoon in many places.