Far Away From Crowders: TUVALU

Staying out of the crowd is our new normal now. Because of the coronavirus, we had a stucked and isolated spring in the houses. Nowadays, everyone plans to spend this summer in a clean and open air, but in deserted places where there are as few people as possible to avoid disease. In this case, the most targeted destination should be the country where the least tourists go in the world: Tuvalu. An island in the middle of the Big Ocean, far from all land parts between Australia and Hawaii, Tuvalu. More precisely, it is a remote island country consisting of nine tiny coral islands lined up like a string.

Tuvalu is definitely a place with unique characteristics. First of all, it is extremely small: the fourth smallest country in the world after Vatican, Monaco and Nauru. Its area is only 26 square kilometers. It has no large area due to its geographical shape, which resembles a thin long snake stretching in the sea. So much so that there is only one main road in the country. The island population is only 12 thousand; this makes it the second independent country with the lowest population after the Vatican.

Tuvalu is no different from the popular resorts with its magnificent lagoons, stunning white beaches, tropical vegetation, exquisite coral reefs and crystal clear turquoise sea. The number of tourists visiting here in 2019 was only around 3000. There is only one hotel and one guesthouse in the country. The number of restaurants does not exceed the numbers of fingers of one hand. Let’s add that there are no credit cards in the country and there are no ATMs. Putting cash in your pocket is the only option. The most important source of livelihood of Tuvalu, where coconut, taro plant, and of course seafood is consumed, is to lease the usage rights of the “.tv” extension, which it owns as the country code on the internet, to the websites.

In recent years, Tuvalu has been constantly catching the world’s attention. This is because it is one of the most important victims of global climate change. Because Tuvalu, which is the highest point from the sea only 4.5 meters, is slowly sinking into the sea due to the rising sea water. According to climatologists, Tuvalu will be completely immersed in the next 50-100 years. And it will be the first country to be wiped out of the world due to climate change.