TUI Colourful Cultures Amsterdam
Amsterdam is a culturally diverse city where tourism plays a major role in the local economy. Yet many visitors experience the city without engaging with the culture and lived experiences that have shaped its identity over time, creating a gap between Amsterdam’s rich social history and the version of the city tailored for tourism.
TUI Colourful Cultures Amsterdam addresses this gap through cultural storytelling and dialogue, connecting visitors with trained storytellers and artists from diverse backgrounds. By embedding personal narratives and artistic expression into tourism experiences, the project promotes cultural understanding and encourages more meaningful engagement between visitors and the city.
Amsterdam is one of Europe’s most visited cities, with its scenic labyrinth of canals offering a unique way to explore the city and its heritage. But whilst canal cruises are amongst its most popular tourism activities, they often focus on the city’s architecture and waterways and leave little room for the human stories that shaped Amsterdam into the diverse city it is today.
At the same time, growing visitor numbers are putting pressure on the city. Amsterdam’s tourism vision now calls for experiences that add value to local life, strengthen cultural understanding and encourage more meaningful engagement with the community. Yet opportunities for visitors to connect with lived histories and contemporary cultural perspectives remain limited.
TUI Colourful Cultures Amsterdam transforms a traditional canal cruise into a cultural experience rooted in storytelling, performance and dialogue. The project supports a range of small-scale boat tours and cultural formats that invite visitors to engage with Amsterdam’s history through personal narratives and artistic expression.
At the heart of the project are trained storytellers with roots in Syria, Turkey, Somalia, Eritrea, Colombia, and beyond. Through their stories, visitors gain an insight into how different cultures, perspectives and journeys have contributed to Amsterdam’s development. Tours take place in small groups, creating space for conversation and reflection, whilst electric boats help reduce environmental impact.
The project brings together people, heritage and professional development to create lasting impressions. 48 storytellers, captains and artists receive tailored support, with Storytellers taking part in a free six-week training programme focused on narrative skills, confidence building and audience engagement, followed by practical experience on the boats. Through mentoring and guided reflection, they develop professional skills in storytelling, hospitality and performance while growing both creatively and personally. Captains and artists are supported through targeted professional opportunities, including certification for captains, and mentoring and performance opportunities for artists, increasing their visibility with local and international audiences.
The project also preserves and renovates two historic boats, so they remain safe, accessible and environmentally responsible. These boats continue to function as cultural spaces on the water, hosting tours, performances and events.
Additionally, by improving operations, marketing and partnerships within the tourism sector, as well as supporting the development of a completely new tour option, the project enables responsible scaling of the tour operator’s professional capacity. Over the two-year period, the touring volume increases from a limited seasonal offer to a more stable programme, delivering more than 200 events per year by the end of the project.
The project supports creative storytelling and cultural exchange within tourism, amplifying underrepresented voices and deepening the understanding of Amsterdam’s diverse social and cultural fabric.
Project Partner
Rederij is a social enterprise based in Amsterdam that operates two boats on the city’s canals that once carried people seeking safety across the Mediterranean Sea. Today, these vessels are used for storytelling, sailing, and cultural events, creating meaningful connections between residents, visitors, and people with migration backgrounds.
Rederij works with a diverse team of captains and storytellers from countries including Syria, Turkey, Somalia, Eritrea, Colombia, and beyond. Trained in sailing and storytelling, they share personal narratives alongside Amsterdam’s lesser-known migration history. Through this approach, Rederij reframes narratives around migration and replaces abstract debates with lived experiences and human connection.
