Suriname’s tourism story is still at the beginning. For now, the numbers remain modest, around 900 hotel rooms nationwide and 470,000 arrivals annually, a figure that includes locals returning from the Netherlands, home to a large Surinamese diaspora. But change is on the horizon. According to Egon von Foidl, Chairman of the Suriname Hotel and Hospitality Association (SHATA) and Managing Director of the Courtyard Paramaribo, eight new hotel projects are currently underway, aiming to double the country’s accommodation capacity by 2028.
This isn’t mass tourism. And maybe that’s the point. Suriname offers something different, space, nature and time to slow down.
The national airline, Suriname Airways, is rebuilding its network after a difficult few years. CEO Steven Gonesh says the focus now is on regional growth, adding new Boeing 737 aircraft, expanding cargo operations, and eventually reintroducing wide-body service to destinations like Amsterdam. With stronger links to Miami, the Caribbean, and Brazil, the country is becoming more connected and more visible. While other airlines also serve routes to Panama, Brazil, the Caribbean, and Europe, there's something unique about the atmosphere on a Suriname Airways flight.
And in the untouched rainforest, there’s Kabalebo Nature Resort. Remote, only accessible by air and completely off-grid, it offers a rare kind of eco-luxury. Founder Karel Dawson started with a fishing trip in the 80s. Now, the resort draws guests from all over the world, attracted by silence, wildlife, and the kind of nature you don’t find on a map. You’ll find other nature resorts along the rivers near Maroon and Amerindian villages, but this one, on the Kabalebo River, is pure wilderness.
This is Suriname: not overbuilt, not overrun. Just beginning, but already something special.
.png)
