Combating overtourism in the Red-light district of the Dutch capital with marijuana bans and fine-finance restrictions, a city official says
In the Netherlands, where prostitution is legal, and marijuana is openly sold in shops, city officials are working to combat “overtourism” within the Dutch capital. The red-light district was the site of a former mayor attempting to ban marijuana cafes. The government has increased taxes on hotels and short-term rentals.
“Residents of the old city center are structurally and excessively bothered by the crowds and nuisance caused by mass tourism and substance abuse in the public space,” the city council said in a statement announcing the news on Thursday.
Street dealers attract tourists, who in turn promote criminal activity. At night, the atmosphere can become gloomy. People who are under the influence stick around longer.
It said it hoped the smoking ban would reduce nuisance. If this doesn’t work, the municipality said it would also consider banning take-out purchases of soft drugs at certain times, and banning smoking marijuana at coffee shops’ outdoor seating areas.
The Amsterdam City Council is obligated to intervene when the window-time rule is broken: The de Wallen neighborhood is expected to draw millions of overnight visitors by 2021
The De Wallen neighborhood, which is also known as the district in Dutch, is supposed to be a place where tourists can appreciate its unique heritage, architecture and culture rather than having sex and drugs.
Over the past few years, there have been multiple initiatives to reduce the impact of mass tourism and nuisance visitors, and to revamp the area’s image.
In 2020, guided tours were prohibited from passing sex workers’ windows, and there was talk of moving the window brothels to a neighborhood outside of the city center – conversations that continue to this day.
For several years, the “We Live Here” campaign has been used to make visitors aware that ordinary people live in the red light district, and the most recent “stay away” campaign – launched toward the end of last year – has focused on actively discouraging international visitors with plans to “go wild” in Amsterdam.
This year, Amsterdam is expected to receive more than 18 million overnight visitors. The number could reach 23 million and another 24 million day visits by the year 2024, according to the local authority. When the number of overnight visitors reaches 18 million, the city council is “obliged to intervene” under a 2021 ordinance called “Amsterdam Tourism in Balance.”
No one will be able to enter businesses that serve alcohol after 1 a.m. because of the “window time” rule. These businesses will also need to close their terraces at 1 a.m., an hour earlier than normal.