The Amsterdam City Council has banned cruise ships from the city’s central port as part of its fight against pollution. According to municipal authorities, most of the ships do not comply with the city’s environmental regulations.
They cite a 2021 study that found that one cruise ship per day produces the equivalent of 30,000 truckloads of nitrogen oxides.
The central cruise terminal in the city center, adjacent to the main railway station, will soon be completely closed.
Until now, he served about 100 liners a year. Hundreds of people will be left without work, and it is not yet clear what compensation is provided.
The mayor’s office says that in addition to being good for the environment, phasing out cruise shipping will also ensure a sharp reduction in tourists on the streets of Amsterdam, which is also one of the priorities of politicians.
Ilana Ruderkerk, a spokeswoman for the left-liberal D66 party, recently compared cruise ship passengers to a locust infestation. Such rhetoric has angered other politicians, but Amsterdam Mayor Femke Halsema, though she does not support such strong language, agrees that the city does not benefit from this kind of tourism.
According to her, the passengers of the liners go ashore for only a couple of hours and during this time they only manage to eat at chain establishments, they have no time to visit museums or restaurants, which brings neither the city treasury nor private business any benefit.
City vs bachelor parties
Citizens have long complained that Amsterdam is becoming less livable due to crowds of visitors and noisy events, especially in central areas.
In February of this year, the municipality introduced a ban on the use of marijuana in the Red Light District, the most popular tourist area. The measure came into effect in mid-May.
In addition, sex industry establishments are now required to close at three in the morning.
In March, the city launched an online campaign calling on young people to drop plans for stag parties in Amsterdam. This is especially popular with the British and Belgians.
Its reputation as a 24-hour party city attracts approximately 20 million tourists a year to Amsterdam, out of a city population of 2.4 million, including the suburbs.
This ratio creates a huge burden on many areas of the life of the city, they say in the mayor’s office.
However, the authorities have no intention of taking away from Amsterdam its status as a city of entertainment. On the contrary, as part of a separate project, they intend to take its nightlife to a new level.
The idea is to open new nightclubs with a certain creative component, for example, for beginner musicians and night opening nights for young artists.
The city authorities are ready to give abandoned tunnels, garages, and other unused municipal sites for this project.