The city of Amsterdam announced in December last year it was preparing a digital “discouragement campaign” for foreign tourists who only come to Amsterdam for “alcohol, drugs and sex”.
The “Stay Away” campaign has just launched and, according to a statement from the city, it will initially target British men aged 18 to 35, with “potentially nuisance-causing visitors from the Netherlands and other EU countries” to be added during the year.
Visitors who want to come to Amsterdam to let loose prepare themselves online with various search terms. For example, if they search for stag party Amsterdam, cheap hotel Amsterdam and pub crawl Amsterdam, they will see warning ads.
City of Amsterdam
The advertisements show the risks and consequences of nuisance and excessive alcohol and drug use: fines, starting at €140, being arrested, a criminal record, hospitalization and damage to health. The campaign will be assessed and possibly further developed in the coming months.
“Visitors remain welcome, but not if they misbehave and cause nuisance. Then we as a city say: rather not, stay away”, said alderman Mbarki of Economic Affairs and Action Inner City. “To keep our city liveable, we now opt for limitations instead of irresponsible growth.”
The “How to Amsterdam” campaign will also start this month, in which the city focuses on visitors who are already there, informing them via social media and with warning signs on the street about the prohibition of urinating in public, drunkenness, noise nuisance and buying drugs from street dealers. Moreover, hotels have LCD screens in the lobby displaying this type of information, while officers address visitors on the street.
In December 2022, the city council adopted the Visitor Economy 2035 Vision and a package of measures to combat excessive tourism and nuisance. A number of these will take effect this spring after discussion in the city council, such as stricter closing times, a smoking ban and limited alcohol sales in certain areas. The city council is also talking to providers of bachelor parties in the city centre about what they can do to reduce the nuisance tourists cause residents.
The city is also conducting various research, expecting the results before the summer, including into the possibilities of using tourist tax effectively and the elaboration of various scenarios for limiting the number of river cruises.
