For “unruly” tourists, the authorities of Amsterdam are “closing the door” – a campaign has been launched to combat unwanted tourism, which is aimed at “unruly” guests aged 18 to 35 years.
The city authorities are asking young Britons to stay away from the Dutch capital if the purpose of their trip is drugs and alcohol. Bans on the use of marijuana and alcohol have already been in place in the red light district since last month, causing active protests and indignation of the “priestesses of love” working in the area.
Information videos are one of the elements of the new campaign. For example, if tourists from Britain type in a search box on the Internet such phrases as “bachelor party Amsterdam” or “cheap hotel Amsterdam”, or “pub crawl (“bar crawl”) Amsterdam, then in response they see an advertisement that warns of the consequences excessive use of alcohol or drugs and problems due to antisocial behavior.
One of the clips shows the arrest of a drunken young man with the accompanying text under the video: “Arriving in Amsterdam for a dirty night + drunk = 140 euros fine + criminal record = fewer prospects. Coming to Amsterdam to spend a dirty night? Stay away.”
Another video shows an ambulance transporting an unconscious person. The text at the bottom reads: “Came to Amsterdam to do drugs + lost control = trip to hospital + permanent damage to health = concerned family. So you came to Amsterdam to do drugs? Stay away!”
Deputy Mayor Sofian Barki explains in a statement:
“Visitors will still be welcome, but not if they behave badly and cause inconvenience. In this case, we, as a city, will say: maybe not, stay away. Amsterdam is already taking many measures against unpleasant tourism and we are taking more action than other major cities in Europe, but we need to do even more (in the coming years) if we want tourism to take its rightful place in our city. irresponsible development.”
It is expected that at the end of the year the “Stay Away” campaign could be expanded to include tourists from the Netherlands and other European countries.
Another one, titled “How to get to Amsterdam”, starts this month and is aimed at tourists who have already arrived in the city. Guests will be warned about drunkenness, excessive noise, buying drugs from street vendors and not urinating in public places via social media and street signs. But that’s not all.
The City Council is in talks with bachelor party organizers to find out how they can reduce the amount of “unpleasant” tourism in the city center and is awaiting the results of a study into the possibility of imposing a tourist tax.
In February this year, Amsterdam announced a ban on street marijuana use and a curtailment of alcohol consumption in the red-light district, where approximately 10%-15% of the city’s tourism industry is concentrated. Prostitutes oppose this initiative and have already announced protests. Priestesses of love plan to take to the streets to protest against the authorities’ decision to close brothels early and against the municipality’s plans to move them from the red light district of the Dutch metropolis to large “erotic centers” on the outskirts.
Hotel and shop owners also expressed opposition to the municipality’s measures, writes CNN.
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