In Amsterdam, as planned, launched a campaign against party tourism. The approach is targeted: for queries like “bachelor party” or “pub crawl”, tourists, primarily British, are shown videos about the risks of excessive drinking and cheap pleasures.
British tourists are the most frequent offenders
About 20 million tourists a year visit Amsterdam, many of whom are attracted by the city’s liberal drug laws and the famous red-light district. In the capital of the Netherlands, they decided to do away with such an image and launched a social campaign “Stay Away”, aimed at curbing the anti-social behavior of guests.
The campaign is primarily aimed at young British tourists aged 18 to 35. It is the British who top the list of violators among foreign visitors: they urinate in public, undress and participate in drunken brawls.
Ten years ago, the then mayor of Amsterdam invited his London colleague Boris Johnson, who called the city “sleazy”, to see for himself what the British were up to.
“They don’t wear outerwear when they walk around the red light district. They are dressed like rabbits or priests, and sometimes they are not dressed at all. I would like to invite Boris Johnson to witness this,” Eberhardvan der Laan said then (we looked at the original of this phrase, but it is like rabbits or priests. — Note ed.).
British travel agencies also offer bachelor weekends in Amsterdam, including canal boat cruises with unlimited booze, strip nights and red-light district pub crawls.
Potential tourists will be warned about the consequences of excesses
Online searches for the words “bachelor party”, “cheap hotel” or “pub crawl in Amsterdam” will now show the user a 30-second video about the risks associated with excessive drug and drinking in this city.
The message is uncompromising: a long weekend in Amsterdam can evoke sad memories, and escaping reality to the party capital can lead to inevitable punishment.
So, in one video, the police handcuff a young man, and the viewers are warned: “Come to Amsterdam for one “dirty” night + be detained = 140 euros fine + criminal record = fewer prospects.”
Another video shows a man being taken away on a stretcher. This action is accompanied by the text “Going to Amsterdam to take drugs + lose control = trip to hospital + permanent damage to health = worried family.”
“Visitors will remain welcome, but not if they misbehave and cause inconvenience. In this case, we as a city will say: rather no, stay away from Amsterdam,” the city hall said in a statement. The city authorities plan to expand the campaign to the markets of other EU countries by the end of the year.
Tourists are asked to refrain from everything “forbidden”
The Stay Away campaign is just one of the many measures Amsterdam is taking to combat over-tourism.
This month, another promotion was launched, aimed at visitors already in the city. Through social media and street signs, tourists are warned against drinking, excessive noise, the prohibition of buying drugs from street vendors, and urinating in public places.
Last month, Amsterdam announced a ban on marijuana on the street and several restrictions on drinking in the red light district.
The city is expected to welcome more than 18 million tourists this year. In the long term, Amsterdam hopes to halve the tourist flow to a comfortable 10 million people a year.