The authorities of the world-famous Amsterdam for 2023 have outlined the next stage of “sanitary cleaning”: officials will introduce strict rules as part of the reformation of the city's image and have declared their readiness to get rid of tourists who choose the capital of the Netherlands for a “dirty” holiday.
We are talking about lovers of marijuana, violent drunken parties and the red light district, in which the sex industry thrives, media reported in the Netherlands. For many years, travelers have associated Amsterdam with a “perverse city”, where crimes are committed uncontrollably and constantly, chaos and violence reign, drugs are openly sold on the streets, and the police, overloaded with more serious problems, do not have time to help the townspeople who complain about the constant noise and dirt. .
So here's what's going to change:
- From mid-May, travelers will not be allowed to smoke marijuana on the streets.
- Alcohol sales are being restricted.
- Bars and parts of the Red Light District that currently have 24-hour licenses will close during curfews.
- Measures are being taken to combat organized stag parties and pub crawls that end in violent antics.
- Measures are being introduced to regulate the flow of tourists and combating overcrowding and “overtourism”. To do this, officials will limit the number of river cruises and rentals through the Airbnb service. Instead, a number of hotels will be converted into residential and office buildings.
According to Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki, the restrictions on tourism are aimed at transforming the city and will not affect the quality of life of residents. “Tourism is a part of our city, but restrictions should not be at the expense of quality of life. That is why there is a long-term tourism vision and package. In recent months, I've listened to all sides: residents, businesses, experts, and interest groups. It became clear to me that action was needed to prevent trouble and crowds. Amsterdam is known as a free and open city that wants to share its cultural wealth, including museums and landmarks, the canal belt, and its nightlife with visitors from all over the world. Some entrepreneurs abuse the city's image to portray Amsterdam as a place of “unlimited opportunity”. As a result, groups of tourists think that Amsterdam is a city where everything is possible and allowed,” the official noted on his page on the social network.
According to information from Dutch publications, the new rules were received positively by the city's residents, even by those who make money from tourism. Remco Grunhuizen, general manager of the Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Centre, said: “We need to get rid of the image of the sex center, drugs and rock and roll.”
The Amsterdam authorities have also suggested other ways they can change the image of their city. So, the mayor of the city of Femke Halsema has been trying for some time to ban tourists from visiting cannabis coffee shops. She also said she wants to remove the red-light district from Amsterdam altogether, proposing to build a five-story “erotic center” with bars and 100 small rooms, as it is humiliating and unacceptable to turn prostitution into a tourist attraction within the city. As you can see, in the future, prostitution will not be completely banned in the country, but will be forced out of the capital.
Recall that the red light district in Amsterdam is one of the most famous in the world. It means the De Wallen area, where brothels, sex shops, sex theaters, marijuana shops, etc. are located. The Amsterdam red-light districts have been known in Europe for over 100 years, although this type of business was legalized in the Netherlands only in 2000 .
Amsterdam isn't the only place to introduce rules against slutty stag and hen parties, though. Popular Spanish resorts earlier also headed for transformation and getting rid of the hated category of tourists.
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