Mayor: tourist numbers must be curbed, even if hospitality loses customers

Mayor Halsema says Amsterdam must rein in the number of tourists visiting each year, even if bars and restaurants lose customers as a result.

In an interview on AT5’s Het Gesprek met de Burgemeester on Friday 2 October, she said that loss would not outweigh the damage mass tourism does to the city.

Amsterdam now draws around 23 million visitors a year, a figure expected to climb to 30 million in the coming years without intervention.

Waste, monoculture and a small share of wealth

Halsema argued that the money tourists bring in does not make up for the downsides, such as the huge amount of waste they leave in the city centre.

She warned that the growing monoculture there will eventually erode the area’s liveability and vibrancy.

She also said tourism’s contribution to Amsterdam’s prosperity is overstated, putting it at just 8%.

Levers outside the city

Getting a grip on visitor numbers is extremely difficult, she admitted, because the biggest levers, such as cheap flights and companies like Airbnb, lie outside Amsterdam.

Even so, while she regrets the impact on individual business owners, she said the city has no choice but to manage tourism as best it can.

Source: AT5