"Stay away!": City forced into bizarre anti-travel campaign
Amsterdam has taken desperate measures in the fight to keep the city safe from “messy” tourists determined to cause chaos and call it a night out.
The Dutch capital’s new online campaign sets out to primarily tackle the problem of young British men, warning them against their plans to “let loose” while they’re visiting.
Hopeful British tourists - between the ages of 18 and 35 - who google things like “stag party Amsterdam”, “pub crawl Amsterdam”, and “cheap hotel Amsterdam” will be made to view short videos that stress the consequences that come with “[causing] nuisance and excessive alcohol and drug use”, according to a statement from the city’s local authorities.
One of said videos shows an intoxicated young man being arrested after insulting police officers, with text reading: “Coming to Amsterdam for a messy night + getting trashed = €140 fine + criminal record = fewer prospects.”
From there comes the firm and to-the-point statement: “So coming to Amsterdam for a messy night? Stay away.”
In another of the campaign’s videos, an unconscious individual can be seen in an ambulance as it rushes to hospital, this time with text that reads: “Coming to Amsterdam to take drugs + lose control = hospital trip + permanent health damage = worried family.”
It concludes with the same message as the other.
Amsterdam welcomes approximately 20 million tourists each year, and is well known for its red light district. It’s this same hotspot that has played a major role in establishing the city as the place to party in Europe.
However, local residents have voiced their displeasure for years, fed up with the chaos that drunken tourists bring their way, and prevent them from enjoying their own city as they want to.
“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,” Amsterdam’s deputy mayor Sofyan Mbarki said.
“Amsterdam is already taking lots of measures against excessive tourism and nuisance, and we are taking more measures than other large cities in Europe. But we have to do even more [in] the coming years if we want to give tourism a sustainable place in our city.”
From there, he went on to note that in order to keep their city a liveable place, they had to turn their attention to “restriction instead of irresponsible growth.”
This isn’t the only - or even first - step city officials have taken towards achieving their goal, having just passed new regulations that make it illegal for anyone to smoke cannabis while in the red light district.
The video campaign may yet expand to include visitors from beyond the UK, authorities have suggested. They also plan to launch another campaign called “How to Amsterdam”, which aims to reign in tourists already visiting. This campaign will utilise social media and street signs, with warnings about everything from drunkenness to noise, drugs, and urinating in public.
Providers who offer bachelor party experiences have reportedly been contacted by the council as well, in the hope that they can reduce - and prevent - trouble in the city’s centre, while they also await the results of research into a potential tourist tax.
Images: YouTube