A Kiwi tour operator has got in trouble for hiring backpackers to act as “fake Maoris” for cruise ship tourists.
The travellers, reportedly from France and Israel, were paid to dress in traditional Maori costumes, draw tattoes on their faces and poke their tongues out.
The act was supposedly a “cultural liaison,” featuring on-board dance routines for the cruise ship passengers docking in the North Island town of Tauranga.
Terina Puriri, the director of Discovery Heritage Group and a Maori herself, has since added fuel to the fire by saying she had no choice but to hire foreigners because the local Maori are too lazy.
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