This is far from the only fix the city is trying. It has banned smoking marijuana outside in the red light district, and reduced the working hours of brothels and bars.
Sofyan Mbarki, an Amsterdam politician, put it this way: “Visitors will remain welcome, but not if they have misbehaved and caused nuisance. In that case, we as a city will say – rather not, stay away.”
Well, recent figures may be making Mr Mbarki smile. According to The Times, there’s been a 22 per cent drop in British visitors to Amsterdam since 2019.
Many reports have praised this as a victory for the “Stay Away” campaign, but, as someone who lives in the city, I’m dubious. An advertising campaign alone won’t dim the allure of the red light district — and it definitely doesn’t feel quieter.
To get some clarity, I spoke with Olivier Ponti, VP Insights at ForwardKeys, the company who provided the data in the reports.
“If Amsterdam is keen to deter British visitors, it does not appear to be particularly successful,” he tells me.
While it’s true there has been a 22 per cent decrease in UK bookings to Amsterdam since 2019, overall visits to the city have dropped by 26 per cent in the same period. In other words, British visitors are decreasing at a slower rate than those from other countries.
Source link : https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/destinations/europe/netherlands/amsterdam/british-tourists-refusing-stay-away-amsterdam-netherlands/
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Publish date : 2023-11-09 03:00:00
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