Amsterdam’s efforts to curb overtourism and keep a level hand on business have run into another snag, with a fight brewing over a new system of licensing limited numbers of ‘business’ boats on its canals.
The category, which comprises all boats operated commercially for pleasure purposes, includes both the huge glassed-in ‘fishbowl’ tour boats and smaller cruisers and launches that provide dinner cruises and lower-key touring. A new law restricts the total number to 550, and ran a lottery to award six- or ten-year permits.
The rub has come because only a third of the permits are open to so-called ‘classic’ boats, the wooden launches and other types that are actually part of Amsterdam’s status as a World Heritage site. Many operators in that category own one or two boats, so getting no license or only one is tantamount to a shutdown, they complain, while the tour companies that operate dozens of the larger boats can easily absorb losing a license or two.
The limits came about in the first place because of noise and congestion complaints from houseboat residents and others near the canals. In their appeals, the owners of the classic boats mention not only the imbalance with the large operators, but also say that their boats have no loud music, and that the big noise offenders are the privately owned party boats that are not commercial and unregulated.
