Amsterdam Is Aggressively Fighting Overtourism. Here's How 6 Major Initiatives Will Impact Your Next Visit

25.09.2024 - 14:45 / matadornetwork.com

Amsterdam, like many other European cities, is facing an overtourism problem. The numbers don’t lie. In the year 2000, the Dutch capital broke a record when it welcomed over 4 million visitors. In 2019, the city’s enthusiasm for unbridled tourism had curbed: 10.2 million visitors came to Amsterdam, which has a population of about 820,000, that year and spent 21.8 million nights in the city.

Since 2020, encouraged by the residents, the city of Amsterdam has been taking drastic measures to not only to rein in tourist numbers with a cap of 20 million overnight stays annually, but also repel troublesome visitors, improving the quality of life for local residents in the process.

“There has not been one trigger [for Amsterdam to decide to fight overtourism],” says Eva Plijter, spokesperson for the Amsterdam City Council, in an email. “Amsterdam has slowly become busier and busier and residents, especially in the city center, have seen major changes in our city.”

Increased busyness is only one of the many and multi-faceted problematic consequences of mass tourism. Demand for more tourist accommodations such as Airbnbs can lead to a hike in housing prices and locals being forced out of the rental market, like what a lot of mountain towns in the US are currently experiencing. Anti-tourist protests in Spain have rocked the country this year. More visitors can also accelerate the early damage of infrastructures that were previously meant only for residents, such as roads, public transports, and hospitals. But overtourism can also pave the way to the deterioration of the culture of a locale — when every shop, restaurant, and bar cater to the needs tastes of outsiders rather than those of residents.

Amsterdam’s ultimate goal is to have solved the problem of overtourism and its negative effects by 2035, as explained in the city’s 10-page report: “Vision on Tourism in Amsterdam in 2035.”

And it goes without saying that Amsterdam’s initiatives to fight overtourism, while being long-term goals, will impact your future trips there.

Over email Plijter outlined the main measures taken by the Amsterdam tourism authorities to slow the growth of tourism and design a more sustainable tourism model.

Home owners in Amsterdam can rent out their primary residence, or part of it, whether a house or a houseboat, to a maximum of four people at a time and for a maximum of 30 nights per calendar year. To do so, however, they need to obtain a permit for which the application costs $77 (71 €). They also need to report on every rented period to the local authorities before their guests arrive. Failing to comply to all these conditions and rules can result in fines up to $23,546 (21,750 €).

The above-mentioned rules on private rentals mean