Amsterdam is fed up with its vacationer deluge.
The Dutch metropolis attracts all varieties of guests—whether or not they’re coming to celebration or go to tulip fields— however lately has change into a sufferer of overtourism and has tried to cap its variety of vacationers.
Final yr’s “Stay Away” marketing campaign was a part of its efforts to discourage vacationers from tainting Amsterdam with their “nuisance,” as Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki put it.
Now Amsterdam is planning to crack down on cruise ships too.
The Dutch capital metropolis plans to restrict cruise ships in its harbor to simply 100 in 2026, down from 190 presently, earlier than banning them outright by 2035, Amsterdam’s council introduced final week. It added that it was a part of a raft of measures to place a lid on tourism and “to counteract nuisance.”
“Sea cruises are polluting and cause crowds and emissions in the city,” the council mentioned in its launch. “We want Amsterdam to be clean, liveable and sustainable.”
Amsterdam’s Metropolis Council didn’t instantly return Fortune’s request for remark.
Ozgen Besli—Anadolu/Getty Photos
Cracking down on overtourism
The transfer to ban inbound cruises has been within the works for some time. Amsterdam wished to redirect cruise liners to terminals exterior the primary metropolis space as they introduced vacationers who crowded the streets. In 2022, the town’s mayor blamed cruise vacationers for swarming the town however doing little for it.
The record-high vacationer numbers, up from 12.6 million in 2019 to 15.1 million in 2023, have spurred the crackdown. This spike in guests has overwhelmed the town’s infrastructure, equivalent to its public transport networks and quaint streets.
Amsterdam is house to a few of the most picturesque water canals and museums. However over time, it’s gained the repute of a celebration metropolis—one it’s attempting to distance itself from. The Dutch capital has tightened guidelines on smoking weed, particularly in its red-light district, and banned new resorts from being constructed earlier this yr.
Cruises aren’t the primary avenue to enter Amsterdam, however they’re definitely among the many most polluting types of it. One cruise, carrying 1000’s of passengers without delay, may end up in the identical ranges of emissions per day as 30,000 vans, a 2021 examine discovered.
For related causes, European cities equivalent to Dubrovnik and Santorini have additionally capped cruise ship numbers. Venice has enacted a “tourist tax” of €5 ($5.4) to assist battle overtourism.
Along with slicing cruise emissions, Amsterdam would require boats to solely shore energy, a substitute for the present diesel gas that reduces air pollution, by 2027. It’s additionally seeking to lower the variety of river cruises in its waters.
All of the efforts to limit tourism might show counterproductive for Amsterdam because it stands to lose between €46 million ($50 million) and €103 million ($111 million) in income, Bloomberg reported. The Metropolis Council acknowledges this however thinks it “cannot afford to sit back and wait for things to get worse.”
“If we don’t do this now, we will become less attractive as a city for people and companies. And that will cost more money in the long run,” a council spokesperson advised the outlet.
