Authorities in Amsterdam, the Netherlands’ capital and most populous city, decided last week to halt new hotel development in a bid to fight overtourism. “Amsterdam will not issue permits for new hotels, except under the ‘new-old arrangement’, which states that new hotels can only be built if other hotels close and the number of accommodation facilities does not increase,” city officials said. A spokesperson told reporters.
Latest version of series of measures
The city has introduced a number of measures to “maintain a livable city for residents and visitors.” Zoning was implemented in 2017, requiring prospective developers to stick to specific areas and provide sustainability credentials and evidence of how they meet the needs of local residents. This slowed down the number of development applications in the pipeline.
In addition, the city has launched two “reverse marketing” curfew campaigns, primarily targeted at France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, to warn potential visitors of the dangers of overdosing on alcohol and marijuana, and to The purpose is to discourage. Rowdy tourists and behavior of certain large groups. It also banned smoking marijuana on public roads and canceled tours of the red-light district. The city has also introduced a tourist tax, which was increased from 7% to 12.5% this year.
Number of guests per year is less than 20 million
Despite this, Amsterdam remains one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world. According to data from the World Travel and Tourism Council, in 2022, international tourist spending was $13.6 billion, ranking fifth. According to government statistics, in 2023 the city provided approximately 21 million hotel stay nights. This is more than 20 times her resident population.
Therefore, a policy of “no new hotels” is being tried. Hotels that already have a permit will not be affected by the new rules, but from now on developers will only be able to obtain a building permit if another hotel closes. Replacement facilities must be comparable in terms of capacity, but with qualitative improvements in terms of facilities and sustainability, and must be rated at least 4 stars in the European Hotel Classification.
In line with a 2021 ordinance that obliges the government to intervene to maintain the “balance of tourism in Amsterdam”, the government will also impose a cap on hotel stays for “less than 20 million hotel nights per year by tourists”. Stated. The number of tourists reached 18 million.
