Amsterdam launches campaign urging rowdy British men to 'stay away'
Amsterdam is launching a new online campaign urging young British men to "stay away" if they plan to visit the city to "go wild," CNN reports.
The campaign targets visitors from the United Kingdom between the ages of 18 and 35 in an attempt to dissuade "nuisance visitors" from coming to the city and engaging in disruptive behavior. If British visitors search for terms like "stag party Amsterdam," "cheap hotel Amsterdam" or "pub crawl Amsterdam," a video advertisement "warning them of the consequences of drinking too much, taking drugs, or causing trouble through antisocial behavior" will appear, CNN explains.
The campaign is an attempt to clean up the reputation of the Netherlands capital, "famed for its red light district and coffee shops that sell marijuana," Bloomberg writes. It is also part of several measures initiated by the city council to discourage rowdy mass tourism, which includes "seeking to ban outdoor marijuana smoking in the red light district." Amsterdam is also considering "a new location for an erotic center away from the district," Bloomberg adds.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"Visitors will remain welcome, but not if they misbehave and cause nuisance. In that case we as a city will say: rather not, stay away," deputy mayor Sofyan Mbarki said in a release.
The city may expand the "Stay Away" campaign later in the year to include visitors from elsewhere in the Netherlands and other European Union countries. The city will also launch a "How to Amsterdam" campaign this month, aimed at tourists already in Amsterdam. Social media and street signs will warn tourists "about drunkenness, causing too much noise, buying drugs from street dealers, and the ban on urinating in public," CNN summarizes. The city council is also talking to bachelor party providers to find a solution to reduce nuisance tourism and "is awaiting research results on the possibility of applying a tourist tax."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Theara Coleman has worked as a staff writer at The Week since September 2022. She frequently writes about technology, education, literature and general news. She was previously a contributing writer and assistant editor at Honeysuckle Magazine, where she covered racial politics and cannabis industry news.
-
What’s the best way to use your year-end bonus?the explainer Pay down debt, add it to an emergency fund or put it toward retirement
-
What are portable mortgages and how do they work?the explainer Homeowners can transfer their old rates to a new property in the UK and Canada. The Trump administration is considering making it possible in the US.
-
10 concert tours to see this winterThe Week Recommends Keep cozy this winter with a series of concerts from big-name artists
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
