Amsterdam locals are fed up with drunken party tourism.
ADVERTISEMENTPlanning a messy trip to Amsterdam? Think again, because the Dutch capital will not be welcoming
The famous European city has launched a new campaign discouraging British party tourism.
Amsterdam draws around 20 million tourists a year - many of whom are drawn by the city’s liberal drug laws and well-known ‘redlight district’.
But locals are fed up with these badly behaved visitors. The new ‘stay away’ campaign is the latest in a series of initiatives to clamp down on their rowdy behaviour.
"Visitors remain welcome, but not if they misbehave and are a nuisance. Then we as a city say: rather not, stay away," Deputy mayor Sofyan Mbarki said.
“To keep our city livable, we now opt for limitations instead of irresponsible growth."
What is Amsterdam’s new ‘stay away campaign?’
The online advertising campaign - initially targeted at British men aged between 18 and 35 - features a series of short videos depicting nights out gone wrong.
The 30-second clips are soundtracked by ominous music and police sirens. They are available to watch here.
The first video opens with a bottle smashing to the ground - a tell-tale sign of debauchery.
A young male actor, who one assumes is meant to appear drunk, is seen to be stumbling around.
He swears at the police, who waste no time cuffing him. He sits in the lock-up, head in hands, contemplating his actions. Was it worth the extra ten jagerbombs? Probably not.
In another video, A well-dressed - but drug-addled - young man is passed out on a park bench.
After an unseen good samaritan tries to wake him, paramedics rush to the scene.
The overindulgent tourist is rushed to the hospital, where concerned doctors huddle around.
“Coming to Amsterdam for a messy night + getting trashed = €140 fine + criminal record?” the ads ask.
“Stay away.”
The videos will be shown to people who search online with terms like “cheap hotel Amsterdam” or “pub crawl Amsterdam”.
How else is Amsterdam discouraging party tourism?
Amsterdam has long had a reputation as a destination for drugs, drink, and sex tourism. The city’s red light district is famed for its legalised brothels and window displays of sex workers, while its cannabis coffee shops also attract rowdy groups of hen and stag parties.
ADVERTISEMENTBut residents say this leads to intoxicated tourists who create an uncomfortable and unsafe atmosphere where they live.
The city announced new restrictions to curb their behaviour last year.
Smoking on the city centre streets is now banned, while the number of river cruises, bachelor parties, and pub crawls will be limited.
The council also hopes to relocate around 100 brothel windows from the city centre to a multi-storey ‘erotic centre’ on the outskirts of town.
Long term, the city hopes to halve the number of annual visitors it welcomes to a more sustainable total of 10 million.
ADVERTISEMENT
