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The municipality of Amsterdam announced on Tuesday the launch of a campaign to discourage tourists from going there only to party, consume alcohol or drugs and visit the famous Red Light District.
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The Dutch capital is stepping up measures to fight crime and nuisance in its city center, which is particularly popular with young tourists for bachelor parties and bar hopping.
The brothels of the Red Light District, located in the heart of the city, are also one of the great tourist attractions of Amsterdam.
“This online deterrence campaign is aimed at unwelcome tourists who want to visit Amsterdam to ‘go wild’, with all the ensuing consequences,” the municipality said in a statement.
The campaign will first target the United Kingdom and will target men aged 18 to 35, a category of tourists strongly represented in the streets of Amsterdam, she said.
It will then address visitors from the Netherlands and other EU countries, likely to cause nuisance.
Targeted online prevention
Those who type terms such as “bachelor party Amsterdam”, “cheap hotel Amsterdam” and “bar crawls Amsterdam” into a search engine will receive warning messages.
“These ads will show the risks and consequences of antisocial behavior and excessive drug and alcohol use, such as a fine, police arrest, criminal record, hospitalization and damage to health” , explained the municipality.
“Visitors will remain welcome, but not if they misbehave and cause nuisance,” said Sofyan Mbarki, deputy mayor.
“In this case, we, as a city, will say: ‘we would rather not, stay away’”, continued Mr. Mbarki, quoted in the press release.
Amsterdam recently announced a ban on smoking cannabis on the streets of the Red Light District, a measure coupled with tighter restrictions on alcohol and an earlier weekend closure of cafes, bars, restaurants and brothels.
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