Amsterdam has had enough of its flood of tourists.
The Dutch city attracts all kinds of visitors – whether they come to party or to see the tulip fields – but in recent years it has fallen victim to overtourism and has tried to limit its tourist numbers.
Last year’s “Stay Away” campaign was part of an effort to stop travelers from polluting Amsterdam with their “nuisances,” as Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki put it.
Now Amsterdam is also planning to take tougher action against cruise ships.
The Dutch capital plans to limit the number of cruise ships in its port from the current 190 to just 100 in 2026, before banning them altogether by 2035, the Amsterdam city council announced last week, adding that this was part of a package of measures to curb tourism and “prevent nuisance”.
“Cruises cause pollution and crowds as well as exhaust fumes in the city,” says the city council’s press release. “We want Amsterdam to be clean, livable and sustainable.”
The Amsterdam City Council did not return immediately AssetsPlease leave a comment.
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Tough action against overtourism
The attempt to ban cruises into the city has been in the works for some time. Amsterdam wanted to reroute cruise ships to terminals outside the city center because they attracted tourists who crowded the streets. In 2022, the city’s mayor blamed cruise tourists for flooding the city but did little to stop it.
Record-high tourist numbers, rising from 12.6 million in 2019 to 15.1 million in 2023, have fuelled the crackdown. This influx of visitors has overwhelmed the city’s infrastructure, such as its public transport network and scenic streets.
Amsterdam is home to some of the most picturesque canals and museums. But over the years, the city has developed a reputation as a party town – one that it is now trying to distance itself from. The Dutch capital has tightened regulations on smoking weed, especially in the red light district, and banned the construction of new hotels earlier this year.
While cruises may not be the main transport route to Amsterdam, they are certainly one of the most polluting modes of transport. A cruise carrying thousands of passengers at once can produce the same emissions as 30,000 trucks per day, a 2021 study found.
For similar reasons, European cities such as Dubrovnik and Santorini have also limited the number of cruise ships. Venice has introduced a “tourist tax” of five euros (US$5.40) to counter overtourism.
In addition to reducing emissions from cruises, Amsterdam will require its ships to use only shore power by 2027, an alternative to existing diesel fuel that reduces pollution. It will also reduce the number of river cruises in its own waters.
Any efforts to restrict tourism could prove counterproductive for Amsterdam, which faces revenue losses of between 46 and 103 million euros ($50 million to $111 million), Bloomberg reported. The city council is aware of this but says it “cannot afford to sit idly by 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 businesses. And that will cost more money in the long run,” a city council spokesman told the news agency.
