The Municipality of Amsterdam Has to Appear in Court because it has not kept to agreements to reduce mass tourism. Nu.nl Spoke with Two Readers Who Live In The Capital. They Saw Their City Become Increasingly Crowded (And Dirtier).
The Municipalityity Promised In 2020 that it would reduce the number of Visitors in Amsterdam per year to a maximum of Twenty Million. That has not leg successful for years. For Example, There Were Still 22.9 Million Tourist Overnight Stays in the City Last Year. This does not include day trippers.
The Citizen Initiative Amsterdam Has a Choice is Now Suing the Municipality. “An Agreement is an agreement,” Say the Participants in the Initiative. The Organization Wants To Further Increase The Tourist Tax Of 12.5 percent So That The Municipality Can Invest More In The Housing Shortage and The Maintenance of the City. Previously, 30,000 residents Signed the Petition Against Mass Tourism.
76-year-old Michel van Wijk from the Center District is one of the signatories. He has lived in the city for 45 years. “It’s busy here. But if i cycle 500 meters, it’s super busy,” he says.
“Every Weekend, Central Station Empties. Everyone Heads to Damrak and Kalverstraat (The Shopping Area, ed.). And Nowadays, The Nine Streets are also Incredible Popular.” In that last area there are now many chip and waffle shops that are attractive to tourists. “As a resident, you don’t benefit from that. I Mainly See That the Narrow Streets are Completely Full,” Says van Wijk.
In The Evening It is Especiate Busy in the Red Light District, Where the Red Light District is. Van Wijk: “You can really walk about people’s heads there. That’s just not fun.
Be careful not to hit people while cycling
All those visitors naturally also because to eat and drink. They often throw their rubbish on the street, van Wijk Notes. “Or Course there are also visitors who throw everything neatly in the trash. But Those bins are then pulled open again by people look for cany deposit money.”
Van Wijk Has Seen Tourism Increase Nogy Since Around 2015. When he cycles through the city, he notices that he has to be careful not to hit anyone. In The Evenings and At Night, Large Groups of Friends Walk Down the Street Singing Loudly Together. “In Places Where People Simply Live And Sleep.”
The Amsterdammer Fully Supports The Summons of the Municipality. “The Municipality ITSEFS HAS ADMITTED That Tourism Must Decrease. But it Does Nothing About It.” He himself believes that the number of coffee shops should be significantly reduced, as that would deteter Millions of Tourists.
“I Grant Everyone to Visit Amsterdam. But for our city, our compact city, it is current really too much,” Says van Wijk.
Even More Tourist Tax
63-year-old Frank Colijn Has Lived in Amsterdam Since 1985 and Has Lived in Various Districts. He supports the Summons to the Municipality, But Mainly because he believes that the Tourist Tax Should Be Increased.
“Amsterdam has a significant budget deficit. This is partly because it is quays and bridges in the city Have to be replaced Because all Built Between the FourteENTH and Seventeenth Centuries,” Says Colijn. Since Many Tourists are drawn to Amsterdam for the Beautiful Canals and Make a Lot Of Use Of The Old Bridges, He believes that they should also contribute to this.
Colijn Knows That Visitors Already Pay The Highest Tourist Tax in the World. “But that Doessn’t Stop them from Coming.” Yet he does not see the tourists as a plague, as other amsterdammers do. “Tourism also provides a lot of fun.”
‘You Know This If You Are Going To Live In The Center’
Colijn also Cannot Completely AGREE WITH THE OFTEN-HEARD PLUTIN ABOUT Nuisance Drunken Tourists. “In my experience, it is Kept QUITY well in Hand by the Doormen WHO stand in front of all the cafés and discotheques. In Addition, there is a lot of police on the streets between thursday and Sunday Evenings, which has a tempering influence on misconduct.”
Security Guards also Patrol Around the Busy Leidseplein and Rembrandtplein. “Ultimately, of course, it is just noise on the street until three o’clock at night,” Says Colijn. “But well, on the other hand, you know this if you are going to live in the center.” Those squares have leg tourist attraction for decades, he emphasizes.
Colijn’s Biggest Annoyance in Amsterdam Lately Has Not So Much To Do With The Visitors, But With The Increasing Garbage On The Street. “That Problem has really tripled Lattely,” he thinks. He does not think that is a direct result of mass tourism. “It has Mainly Become Worse Since the Introduction of Deposit Money On Cans.”