Fiji Airways’ new codeshare with Canada’s WestJet, announced this week in Nadi, promises to stitch Fiji more tightly into North America’s travel map — a move that could boost tourism, hospitality jobs and business links across the South Pacific. But World Bank economists and local business owners warn the gains will not automatically translate into better livelihoods for young Fijians without deliberate policy and attention to logistics that sustain tourism and fisheries.
The partnership, unveiled 13 May in Nadi, will allow Fiji Airways to place its FJ code on WestJet’s domestic network — opening single-ticket connections from cities such as Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg and Halifax to Fiji Airways’ international services — while WestJet will place its WS code on Fiji Airways’ Vancouver–Nadi flights and onward connections across New Zealand. Fiji Airways managing director and CEO Paul Scurrah said Canada “represents a growing and high-value market for Fiji and the wider Pacific,” and that the arrangement makes travel “easier than ever” for Canadian visitors heading to Fiji and neighbouring destinations.
More flights, more jobs? The codeshare arrives as the World Bank presses Pacific governments to prepare now for a demographic shift that could either be a dividend or a liability. Ruth Nikijuluw, a World Bank economist based in Jakarta, told regional audiences that at least 19 percent of Fijian youth are not in education, employment or training — a figure she described while presenting findings from the bank’s latest Pacific Economic Update. Pacific Island countries, she said, enjoy a rare demographic advantage: young people will make up a major share of the working-age population over the next decade and “will make up roughly a third of the working-age population” by 2035.
But Nikijuluw was careful to link potential gains to a concrete jobs agenda. “The Pacific has this untapped demographic asset, which is their youth,” she said, adding that turning that wave of young workers into long‑term growth requires more and better jobs, and policies that remove barriers to labour force participation — particularly for women. The World Bank notes female labour force participation across Pacific countries is about 20 percentage points lower than male participation on average.
Ralph van Doorn, World Bank lead economist for Papua New Guinea and the Pacific Islands, urged policy makers to focus on foundations: resilient infrastructure, human capital and digital connectivity. He pointed to migration as an underused asset, arguing many Pacific workers return from seasonal or off‑island jobs with new skills that could be harnessed at home.
Those words matter in Suva and Pacific Harbour, where new private-sector investments and higher visitor numbers could create immediate openings. Damodar Yatulau Pte Ltd announced this week that The OVALS, a new restaurant and entertainment venue, will become the latest tenant at the Damodar Arts Village in Pacific Harbour. Group CEO Div Damodar said the venue aims to offer “a premium dining and entertainment experience” with a sommelier-selected wine list, a sports bar and live performance stage — features that will require chefs, servers, bar staff, sound technicians and other hospitality workers.
Local training output is already shifting. The Fiji National University celebrated a three-day graduation in May that produced 1,906 new graduates, 991 of them women, and included the university’s latest PhD in Education, Dr Sereima Baleisomi. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Viliame Gavoka was chief guest and commended the university’s role in national development. Those graduates expand the pool of trained workers who could be absorbed by tourism, events and the service economy — provided jobs exist.
Supply chains under strain Yet local businesses warn that rising global freight costs threaten to blunt some of the benefits of improved air links by increasing the cost of equipment and supplies on the ground. Sea Master owner Kevin Kwon, who imports fishing gear to Fiji from Korea to keep prices low for local fishermen, told Fiji One that higher international shipping expenses are beginning to squeeze margins and could ultimately make essential gear less affordable.
“For over 15 years” Kwon said he has aimed to supply accessible fishing equipment to support local fishers; rising freight rates, he warned, risk reversing that gain. The concern is practical: small-scale fishers who rely on affordable nets, lines and engines could see input costs rise, affecting incomes and household food security in coastal communities.
Domestic shipping schedules remain a vital counterweight. The Ministry of Public Works, Meteorological Services and Transport this week released the Government Shipping Franchise Scheme timetable for May. MLC Liahona II is scheduled to sail to Kadavu on May 14, calling at a long list of villages; MV Ohana is due to sail to Rotuma on May 18 and to service the Lomaiviti group from May 25 to 27; and MV Lomaiviti Princess XII will operate in the Upper Southern Lau route from May 26 to May 30. Those government-run runs keep goods and passengers moving to outer islands, maintaining supply lines even as international freight prices fluctuate.
Questions over foreign projects In other infrastructure news, The Fiji Times reported that Australia’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water clarified it has no involvement in talks surrounding a proposed Vuda Waste-to-Energy power plant at Naikorokoro Point in Saweni, Lautoka. The project, put forward by The Next Generation (TNG) Fiji and estimated at about $1.4 billion, is a private-sector initiative, the department said. It also pointed to Australian legislation that regulates the export of waste: unsorted household rubbish is classed as hazardous under the Hazardous Waste (Regulation of Exports and Imports) Act 1989, and the Waigani Convention regulations preclude permits to export such waste to Fiji.
The Australian statement is likely to reframe public debate around the proposed plant, which has drawn interest and scrutiny as a potentially transformative but controversial venture given its scale and the environmental concerns such projects often raise.
Regionwide marine protections Across the region, conservation commitments are being discussed at the Melanesian Ocean Summit in Port Moresby. Papua New Guinea’s Minister for Conservation, Environment and Climate Change Simo Kilepa told delegates his government aims to expand Marine Protected Areas and strengthen security against illegal activities in protected waters. Kilepa emphasised working with customary landowners and communities, signalling a regional push to balance use and protection of ocean resources — a development with implications for fisheries, tourism and coastal livelihoods.
Rugby, a home crowd and community pull Back home, sport continues to draw crowds and local spending. Swire Shipping Fijian Drua head coach Glen Jackson named a strong side for the team’s Round 14 clash against the NSW Waratahs at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva — the Drua’s final home game of the 2026 Super Rugby Pacific season. The team’s selection changes after a bye-week include Peni Ravai replacing injured prop Haereiti Hetet, and the return of Etonia Waqa, Manasa Mataele, Samuela Tawake and Vilive Miramira. Rugby fixtures like this bring fans into the capital and feed hotel nights, eateries and transport services, connecting the sporting season to the broader economy.
Taken together, this week’s moves — a major international air codeshare, an emphasis from economists on converting a youth boom into jobs, private hospitality investment, pressures on freight-sensitive industries, and the steady churn of domestic shipping and community events — sketch a familiar Pacific story. Opportunities are arriving on planes and in venues. Converting them into sustainable work for young Fijians will depend on the practical things the World Bank set out: resilient infrastructure, skills, reliable energy and better access to capital.