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Amsterdam is the latest European city to stage protests against overtourism following a campaign against its “unliveable” conditions on Saturday (21 December).
The demonstration by locals on the Leidseplein symbolically took place outside the controversial new build, the Diamond hotel.
Once the home of “Heineken Hoek”, an iconic corner landmark, the Diamond’s contemporary facade has not been a hit with many residents.
Dingeman Coumou, the organiser of the “Het is Genoeg”, or “that’s enough”, campaign called the Diamond “another one of those horrible hotels, which attract even more tourists and look awful,” reported The Times.
This year Amsterdam proposed restrictions to the way tourists enter and stay in the city with the aim to limit overnight stays to just 20 million tourists annually.
Yet tourist numbers to the canal city’s tulip gardens and famed Red Light District have shown no signs of reducing. Amsterdam received around 22 million overnight stays in 2023 – two million over the proposed limit.
Mr Coumou said that the tourism “flooding our city” has now become disruptive to the lives of locals in Amsterdam.
He added: “It ensures that our children can no longer live in the city because of the high real estate prices, it creates a monoculture but, above all, the centre of Amsterdam is becoming unliveable because of the crowds.”
Frits Huffnagel, a former councillor for economic affairs, introduced the phrase “I Amsterdam” with the slogan spelt in large letters outside the Rijksmuseum until 2018, before being moved around the city.
“You shouldn’t say: let everyone come and piss and puke in my city. You have to take action against those people,” said Mr Huffnagel.
The Dutch capital had already introduced measures to thin out crowds in 2023 with an increased tourist tax, a “Stay Away” campaign and an “Amsterdam Rules” quiz to deter rowdy British visitors.
This April, Amsterdam also announced a limit on the number of river cruises that can enter its waterways and plans to reduce overnight visitors by banning the construction of new hotels.
For more travel news and advice, listen to Simon Calder’s podcast
