Flowery bikes, eco-living and diversity: Amsterdam paints a new vision of the city for tourists

05.12.2023 - 00:31 / euronews.com / Femke Halsema / Angela Symons

Amsterdam has desperately been trying to shake off its ‘party capital’ image - with limited success.

After its 2023 campaign urging drunken British tourists to ‘stay away’ failed, the city is trialling a softer approach.

Hoping to attract “a different type of visitor”, according to a press release from the local authority, the new ‘Renew Your View’ campaign encourages tourists to see the city through a local’s eyes.

Taking aim at those who “seek sensation and vulgar entertainment” at the city’s Red Light District and ‘coffee shops’, it promotes a different side of the city, free from transgressive behaviour and rowdy bachelor parties.

The campaign will start early next year and run until the end of 2025.

Painting the city as a place for “ideas, initiatives and inspiration”, Amsterdam’s ‘Renew Your View’ campaign features flower bikes, LGBTQ+ culture and green living.

It emphasises the city’s diversity of people and viewpoints, saying “Amsterdam makes you see… how you can be just you, while giving room to others too.”

But if being you means chugging 10 beers, getting high out of your mind and trawling the Red Light District, you’re still not welcome.

Amsterdam’s headline-grabbing Stay Away campaign initially took aim at young British men when it was released in March this year.

The city is carrying the message into 2024 - and expanding it to men aged 18 to 35 from EU countries as well as the Netherlands.

Since its launch, the campaign has been coupled with measures to curb nuisance behaviour in the city centre. These include a weed smoking ban and early closing of restaurants and food vendors in the Red Light District - rules the local authority intends to make clear in its ongoing messaging.

It also warns that a messy weekend in the city could land you with a fine and a criminal record.

So far it has not significantly discouraged tourists but it has somewhat changed the image of the city and made visitors more aware of the rules, Mayor Femke Halsema said in a letter to the city council.