Family

Largley rural with an agricultural economy, the small South Pacific island nation is a happy nation. 

Despite being prone to natural disasters, this Pacific archipelago’s unique combination of sustainability and tradition makes it one of the happiest places in the world.

By Bill Code
10 February 2020
BBC Travel

One of the happiest places on Earth sits in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Vanuatu, a slingshot-shaped country that comprises more than 80 islands nearly 2,000km east of Australia, ranked among the four happiest nations in the world " and the happiest outside of the Americas " according to the Happy Planet Index. The rankings take into account a nation' s wellbeing, life expectancy and inequality levels, along with its ecological footprint.

Considering a vacation to a country or region recently damaged by a natural disaster? Here are some of the ethical questions.

Australia' s recent bushfires are the latest in a spate of terrifying natural disasters across the planet. Can tourists help more by visiting or by donating?

By Tim McDonald
BBC – TRAVEL
19 February 2020

Lorena Granados and Gaspar Roman have set up a temporary leather goods stall by the edge of the road in Mogo, a bushfire-ravaged town in New South Wales, Australia. It sits in front of their old store, which was reduced to warped corrugated iron and ashes when the fires tore through this tiny tourist town of about 300 on New Year' s Eve.

"We can continue to have a purpose in life and get up in the morning and have something to do," Granados told me. The next few months will be a grind, they said. They' ll be seeking government assistance and dealing with insurers and depending on help from family and friends.