Amsterdam has long been a popular tourist destination.Photo/Getty Images
It’s no secret that Amsterdam is on a mission to slow down tourist growth and prevent certain types of tourists from visiting.
In 2022, the government launched a campaign asking certain tourists to “stay away”. In 2023, it banned guided tours and cannabis use in public places around red-light districts, then banned cruise ships and raised tourism taxes, making it the highest in Europe.
Now, the local government has announced its latest strategy to curb mass tourism. Ban on new hotels.
According to a recent announcement, no new hotels will be allowed to be built in popular cities in order to limit the number of accommodations available to tourists.
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The intervention is authorized under a 2021 ordinance called the Amsterdam Tourism Balance Ordinance, which allows the city council to take action when tourist numbers reach 18 million.
In 2019, before the pandemic, the city had 25.2 million hotel guests, according to city data. In 2023, the number of stays has increased to approximately 20.7 million people. This number also does not include the number of nights tourists spend in short-term rentals, B&B hotels, and cruise ships.
“We want to create and maintain a city that is livable for residents and visitors. This means banning overtourism, not creating new hotels, and ensuring that the number of hotel stays by tourists exceeds 20 million per year. “This means not to exceed,” the statement said.
New hotels can only be built if they close, essentially fixing the number of hotel beds available to visitors. Instead, developers are being encouraged to look outside the city centre.
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If a new hotel replaces an old one, council rules state it must maintain the same number of accommodation and prove it will benefit the city. For example, it is more sustainable than its predecessor.
New properties cannot increase the number of sleeping places and must prove to be more beneficial to the city, such as being more sustainable.
Hotels that have obtained construction permits (approximately 26 of them) will be allowed to build.
Banning people from visiting Amsterdam is not practical, so Amsterdam City Finance Director Van Buuren needs to find other ways to manage mass tourism, which is not profitable for residents or visitors. He said there is.
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“Overtourism is a global problem, and tourists themselves are deterred when a destination is crowded. But we recognize that simply locking down Amsterdam is not a viable solution.”
