Amsterdam’s city council is considering a package of 88 plans that together would, they hope, reshape Amsterdam’s center city and its reputation, looking to become less dependent on ‘low-budget tourism’ that is looking for drugs, sex and lost weekends.
For years, Amsterdamers have complained that the heart of their city has become uninhabitable and unpleasant because of that kind of mass tourism, while at the same time it has become a bigger and bigger part of the city’s economy. The absence of mass tourism during the pandemic has allowed the city to experiment with a number of new rules, and some are likely to become permanent.
Among the changes under consideration are banning short-term rental in the city center, reducing the number of drug-based ‘coffee shops’ or enforcing locals-only restrictions already on the books, turning cheap hotels into apartments, allowing longer business hours for non-alcohol businesses, and reducing or moving the city’s famous ‘Red Light’ district. Also among the plans, the city might buy buildings in the most affected area to turn them from tourism-focused uses to local uses.
While there will be a lot more discussion and debate before final decisions, the council’s hope is to see Amsterdam transformed or reborn by 2025.
