Geography of New Caledonia point is Mont Panié at elevation. The total area of New Caledonia is , of those being land. A territorial dispute exists with regard to the uninhabited Matthew and Hunter Islands, which are claimed by both France (as part of New Caledonia) and Vanuatu. The New Caledonian archipelago is a microcontinental island chain which originated as a fragment of Zealandia, a nearly submerged continent or microcontinent which was part of the southern supercontinent of Gondwana during the time of the dinosaurs. The Grande Terre group of New Caledonia, with Mont Panié at as its highest point, is the most elevated
Tourism in New Caledonia Tourism in New Caledonia New Caledonia was "largely indifferent to tourists ... as long as nickel mining remained economically dominant". After the Korean War and Vietnam War, world prices for nickel collapsed (1970s) and aggressive marketing campaigns were initiated for the territory. Cheap tourist packages were offered to Australians promising the 'Paris of the Pacific' and visitor numbers increased from less than 5000 to 20,000 in just 5 years. 37,000 tourists annually took cruises (mostly from Australia) and this allowed more hotels to be built in the 1970s and, in 1979, Club Mediterranee arrived. The tourist market had shifted by