Who can forget Djibeauty,the catchphrase for Djibouti? Or how about I FEEL sLOVEnia,Incredinburgh,or Lion Air’s tonally awkward:“We Make People Fly”?
The latest misstep was taken by UK travel company Tui,which marketed a Suriname package holiday to Dutch holidaymakers with the words:“Step into the shoes of our brave ancestors and follow their tracks in green and adventurous Suriname,” before inviting them to sample “the atmosphere of the plantations”.
In the mid-17th century,Suriname was colonised by British plantation owners,who used forced labour,before the country was taken over in 1667 by the Dutch,who also enslaved both African and indigenous workers.
“We read this message with our heads bowed deep in the dust with embarrassment,” Tui apologised. “No doubt the copywriter did not mean it in a bad way,but we completely understand that it is hurtful and just stupid of us not to have noticed it.”
It makes you wonder whether humans are best equipped to write slogans for holidays,or if artificial intelligence could do an equally effective job. Below we have slogans that tourist boards have at one point used to promote their destination,and an option created by the artificial intelligence tool ChatGPT,following basic instructions to formulate an inspiring tourism slogan using inspirational language and,if appropriate,wordplay.
Think carefully,try to find the “human” slogan,and share your results with us in the comments at the bottom of the article.