Transport to Fiji’s outer islands is set to become more expensive and potentially less frequent as maritime operators grapple with rising global fuel prices, Member of Parliament and former cruise tourism executive Semi Koroilavesau has warned. Speaking on the likely downstream effects for maritime and rural communities, Koroilavesau said boat fares and cartage costs are already under pressure and may have to rise if fuel prices continue to climb.
Koroilavesau, who draws on experience in the cruise tourism sector, said operators face limited options to absorb sustained fuel-cost increases. “I think you’ll just be basically looking at the cost of fuel and what is going to happen in the future in regards to businesses, especially transportation,” he said, noting that although he was no longer directly involved in the business sector his concern remains for services that link outer islands with the main centres. He predicted that both formal passenger services and ad hoc transporters could pass higher costs on to consumers.
As an immediate operational response, Koroilavesau suggested some operators may deliberately reduce vessel or vehicle speeds to lower fuel consumption, a move that would conserve fuel but could extend journey times and reduce the number of trips available each week. “If you reduce your speed in the vessels or vehicles that you are using, then the consumption of fuel is much lower,” he said, adding that consumers have few alternatives where there are limited transport providers servicing remote communities.
Koroilavesau also proposed fuel hedging as an option for businesses to manage price volatility — purchasing fuel in advance to lock in prices and create a short-term reserve to draw on during spikes. He said operators in tourism and transport sectors should explore hedging arrangements where feasible, but acknowledged it may not be practicable for smaller operators without access to capital or financial instruments.
The MP linked the local pain to the wider geopolitical backdrop, saying the duration of the ongoing war in the Middle East will largely determine how severe and prolonged the pressure on fuel supplies and prices will be. That assessment echoes earlier warnings from the Fijian Competition and Consumer Commission, which has been monitoring tensions surrounding the Strait of Hormuz and has cautioned that Fiji—an importer of all its fuel—remains exposed to global price shocks and typically experiences local price adjustments within a month.
Beyond short-term coping measures for businesses, Koroilavesau urged households in maritime areas to boost their resilience by finding alternative incomes and increasing local food production. “My message to the people is that we’ve gone through COVID. And I think to try and buffer the extra cost that will come with the issues in the Middle East, you need to do a lot of alternative source of income,” he said, suggesting activities such as fishing and small-scale cultivation to supplement household consumption and earnings.
The prospect of higher transport costs threatens to squeeze tourism operators, goods cartage and everyday mobility for island communities. How widely fares are raised, how many services are curtailed, and whether government relief or industry-level hedging can blunt impacts will depend on how long fuel markets remain strained by the conflict and on the financial capacity of transport operators to absorb short-term losses.
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