British Virgin Islands (BVI) is a British overseas territory, located 60 miles east of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean and a great tourist destination. Hundreds of thousands of tourists visit these islands each year, majority from the United States. The main attraction is the natural beauty, coral reefs and white sandy beaches. The British Virgin Islands has used the US dollar as its currency since 1959 and the official language is English.
The main islands are Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda and Jost Van Dyke, additionally there are over fifty other smaller islands and cays. Tortola is the biggest island and 80% of the British Virgin Island's population lives here. This is also the location of the capital city, Road Town, famous for its nightlife including fine restaurants and bars. There are also plenty of supermarkets, variety stores and jewellery shops. Most of the islands in BVI are of volcanic origin and have a rugged and hilly terrain; just the Anegada Island is flat and made up of limestone and coral. The climate of these islands is great all year long, and a lot of cruise ships visit these islands each year. Fishing, Scuba diving and Sailing are the most popular water sports. Tourist facilities are widely available.
According to the CIA world fact book, British Virgin Islands or BVI is a very prosperous economy and tourism generated 45% of the national income. Government began offering offshore registration to companies wishing to incorporate in these islands in the mid-1980s which along with payroll taxes also generates a huge revenues for BVI. In year 2000 there are over 400,000 companies in the offshore registry. In 1994, the adoption of a comprehensive insurance law provides a blanket of confidentiality with regulated statutory gateways for investigation of criminal offenses, made the British Virgin Islands even more attractive to international business.
