For a long time, there has been despair surrounding tourism in the Dutch capital, Amsterdam.
The city, with a population of 850,000, is visited by 22 million tourists annually, and the city council has repeatedly taken action against unwanted tourism in recent years.
Especially the possibility of sex sales and the purchase of hashish and marijuana over the counter at so-called “coffee shops” has led many to choose the Dutch capital as a holiday destination.
Taking action against unwanted tourism
Must show passport
In January 2021, however, the city council put its foot down to put a stop to the rush of tourists who were making noise and living in the streets. Together with the police and the prosecution, mayor Femke Halsema introduced rules that you had to show a Dutch passport to enter coffee shops.
Now the city council in the capital is tightening up further to crack down on increased drug tourism. From May, it is no longer allowed to smoke hash in public in the historic areas of the city.
Further changes proposed by the city council include, among other things, that restaurants must close earlier and that prostitutes in the Red Light District must close their business earlier.
The measures will make the neighborhoods safer and more comfortable for the residents, says an announcement.
Senior doctor warns
Vacation from morality
Local residents have complained about drunkenness, noise and weed smoking for several years. Tourists also attract drug dealers, who in turn create crime and increase the dangers on the streets, they write further.
In an interview from last summer, Mayor Halsema said that they love tourists in the city, but that there is a problem with the behavior of some of the tourists.
– The people we don’t welcome are people who come here on holiday out of morals. The tourists behave in a way that they would not do at home. People who come here to lose morale are a problem for us, says Halsema.
In the summer of 2019, the mayor launched plans to close down the famous prostitution quarter “Red Light District”, and instead establish an “erotic zone” outside the city centre.
