Travel agency says sorry after Suriname slavery gaffe
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Add as a favourite source on Google Add DutchNews as a favourite source on GoogleTravel agency TUI has apologised for a description accompanying a trip to the former Dutch colony of Suriname which included the phrases ‘step into the shoes of our brave forebears” and “taste the atmosphere at the plantations.”
The text was highlighted on Instagram where it was met with indignation from, among others, anti-racism group Kick Out Zwarte Piet (KOZP).
TUI has since changed the wording in its brochure. “We hang our heads in shame,” TUI said in response to the Instagram post. “Undoubtedly, the copywriter had no malice in mind but we understand completely how hurtful this is, and how stupid we have been for not flagging it up.”
Suriname was a Dutch colony from 1667 until 1954. Until the abolition of the slave trade in 1863, its plantation economy depended entirely on slave labour.
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