THE tourism outlook for the Pacific is currently facing uncertainty, due mainly to an expected weakening in global economic growth, projected to slow to 2.3 per cent in 2025, the World Bank revealed in its latest economic update released yesterday.
This, it added, reflects weaker economic performance across most countries compared to 2024.
“Early data from Fiji exemplifies this trend, with a reported 4 per cent decline in tourist arrivals in the first quarter of 2025, particularly from major markets such as Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
“This decline and broader global uncertainties challenge the previously optimistic forecast for the East Asia and Pacific region, which anticipated a 3-5 per cent growth in international arrivals for 2025.”
The publication is titled: “Employ Women, Empower the Pacific: A Strategy for Uncertain Times” and is specifically focused on its 11 member countries in the Pacific (except Papua New Guinea).
In it, the World Bank encourages its PIC-11, Fiji included, to tap into what it assessed was the underutilisation of women workers, who could step in to help boost growth.
“Increasing Pacific female labour force participation can yield significant economy-wide returns,” the World Bank stated.
“The PIC-11 face underutilised human capital, particularly among women, whose low labour force participation limits wage growth and household resilience.
“Research has found that closing gender gaps in employment — especially in better-paid non-agricultural work — could raise GDP per capita on average by 22 per cent across the PIC-11.
“The potential economic gains vary widely by country, from 9 per cent in Solomon Islands and 10 per cent in Palau, to 30 per cent in Fiji and 37 per cent in RMI (Republic of the Marshall Islands).”
The report, prepared in April at the onset of US President Donald Trump’s Liberation Day tariff measures, carry baseline projections for 2025 and the medium term that consider the effects of the expected global economic slowdown and trade policy uncertainty.
“To stay on course toward development goals, Pacific countries could benefit from reinforcing resilience and accelerating structural reforms to unlock untapped workforce potential,” it noted.
For Fiji, the World Bank had revised our 2025 growth downwards to 2.6 per cent, in line with the expected softening in tourism.
