The combination of French and English influences in Vanuatu is such that you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d landed at a Canadian airport. Of course, this is all clarified the moment you lay eyes on the extraordinary tropical beauty of the nation, which has become a firm favourite among international property investors. The tourism industry in Vanuatu is unsurprisingly solid – short-term holiday lets, therefore, are big business. Longer term, it’s perfectly possible to bring home rental yields of close to 10 per cent for beach properties, while a 12.5 per cent rental income tax and low buying costs all sweeten the deal. On a slightly negative note, no land in Vanuatu is bought or sold but can instead be leased for no more than 50 years – restrictions on foreign buyers can be stifling.