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Tourism ‘reset’ for Amsterdam, as city plans cannabis café ban and move for red light district | Planet Attractions
     

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Tourism ‘reset’ for Amsterdam, as city plans cannabis café ban and move for red light district

Amsterdam could be a very different place in 2021, with plans to ban tourists from cannabis cafés and to move the Red Light District away from the city centre




Amsterdam will soon restrict coffee shop access for foreign visitors   Credit: Flickr.com

Amsterdam could be about to get a tourism ‘reset’, with the city planning a ban on foreign tourists in cannabis cafés, as well as moving the Red Light District away from the historic city centre.

The plans have been put forward by the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, who wants to make central Amsterdam, which usually welcomes 20 million visitors a year, more liveable for residents by cracking down on both drugs and sex tourism.

Cannabis cafés in the centre of the city are largely supported by visiting tourists, with the mayor saying that such attractions attract hard drugs and associated crimes. A ban on foreign tourism, says Femke, would help to tackle organised crime linked to the trade of cannabis and the flow of harder drugs.

The Red Light District currently sits in the historic De Wallen - a medieval part of the city. Under the propsal, the district would be moved to a yet-to-be-determined “erotic centre” away from the centre of Amsterdam to a new location on the city’s outskirts.

According to city officials, the move would help to tackle anti-social behaviour within Amsterdam, while also pushing the city “upmarket”.

“These measures aim to result in a better mixture of functions, better control, a valuable visitor economy and strengthening cultural diversity and the local identity, more diverse range of housing and more residents in the inner city, more accessible public space and more greenery,” said Halsema, who is the city’s first female mayor and has been a long time campaigner for an end to the Red Light District.

The plans have faced oppostion, with Amsterdam’s sex workers concerned about reduced business, while concerns have also been raised that a drugs ban will hand over trade to illegal street dealers.

Currently in lockdown due to COVID-19, Amsterdam has introduced a number of other deterrents for “low-value” tourists, including a ban in the city centre for Airbnb-style holiday rentals.

“This is about a reset of Amsterdam as a visitor city,” said Dennis Boutkan, of the Dutch Labour party. “Tourists are welcome to enjoy the beauty and freedom of the city, but not at any cost.”


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Tourism ‘reset’ for Amsterdam, as city plans cannabis café ban and move for red light district | Planet Attractions
news

Tourism ‘reset’ for Amsterdam, as city plans cannabis café ban and move for red light district

Amsterdam could be a very different place in 2021, with plans to ban tourists from cannabis cafés and to move the Red Light District away from the city centre




Amsterdam will soon restrict coffee shop access for foreign visitors   Credit: Flickr.com

Amsterdam could be about to get a tourism ‘reset’, with the city planning a ban on foreign tourists in cannabis cafés, as well as moving the Red Light District away from the historic city centre.

The plans have been put forward by the city’s mayor, Femke Halsema, who wants to make central Amsterdam, which usually welcomes 20 million visitors a year, more liveable for residents by cracking down on both drugs and sex tourism.

Cannabis cafés in the centre of the city are largely supported by visiting tourists, with the mayor saying that such attractions attract hard drugs and associated crimes. A ban on foreign tourism, says Femke, would help to tackle organised crime linked to the trade of cannabis and the flow of harder drugs.

The Red Light District currently sits in the historic De Wallen - a medieval part of the city. Under the propsal, the district would be moved to a yet-to-be-determined “erotic centre” away from the centre of Amsterdam to a new location on the city’s outskirts.

According to city officials, the move would help to tackle anti-social behaviour within Amsterdam, while also pushing the city “upmarket”.

“These measures aim to result in a better mixture of functions, better control, a valuable visitor economy and strengthening cultural diversity and the local identity, more diverse range of housing and more residents in the inner city, more accessible public space and more greenery,” said Halsema, who is the city’s first female mayor and has been a long time campaigner for an end to the Red Light District.

The plans have faced oppostion, with Amsterdam’s sex workers concerned about reduced business, while concerns have also been raised that a drugs ban will hand over trade to illegal street dealers.

Currently in lockdown due to COVID-19, Amsterdam has introduced a number of other deterrents for “low-value” tourists, including a ban in the city centre for Airbnb-style holiday rentals.

“This is about a reset of Amsterdam as a visitor city,” said Dennis Boutkan, of the Dutch Labour party. “Tourists are welcome to enjoy the beauty and freedom of the city, but not at any cost.”


 



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