Amsterdam cafes.
Photographer: Ramon Van Flyemen / AFP / Getty Images
Photographer: Ramon Van Flyemen / AFP / Getty Images
In an effort to clean up its image, Amsterdam aims to restrict an important tourist attraction: its cafes.
Only Dutch residents would be allowed to enter cannabis outlets under a proposal from Mayor Femke Halsema. The plan, supported by police and local prosecutors, aims to combat the flow of hard drugs and organized crime linked to the marijuana trade.
“The cannabis market is very big and overheated,” said Halsema in comments by email. “I want to shrink the cannabis market and make it manageable. The residence condition is far-reaching, but I see no alternative. “
Halsema submitted the plan to the Amsterdam council on Friday, initiating a political debate, including discussions about a transitional agreement with store owners. She expects the policy to take effect next year, at the very least.
The initiative is Amsterdam’s latest initiative to actively reduce the flow of visitors and improve the quality of life for residents. Crowds have flocked to the city since cheaper flights have made its historic center a popular weekend destination.
Read more: Amsterdam wants nothing to do with the tourism revival in Europe
Prior to coronavirus blockages, its renowned red light district, marijuana shops and picturesque canals drew more than 1 million visitors a month – more than its permanent population.
“The cafeterias, especially in the center, serve mostly tourists,” said Halsema. “The rise in tourism has only increased demand” and has attracted the crime of hard drugs in the process.
Although the tourism outage caused by the pandemic has hit the city budget, Amsterdam’s first mayor is determined to reshape the sector as soon as the crisis passes. The closure of the free marijuana trade can keep a large number of revelers away.
Read more: Amsterdam brothels to receive an assessment from the city’s first mayor
Going to a coffee shop was a “very important” reason for 57% of foreign visitors in the area that includes the red light district, according to a survey commissioned by the city government.
Amsterdam is home to 166 coffee shops, and most would not be needed if the plan was in place. Local demand for cannabis would support only 68, according to the government study.
Similar restrictions have already been applied in Maastricht and Den Bosch, which responded to the overload of cafes with visitors from Germany, France and Belgium. Efforts are supported by a 2013 Dutch law that aims to favor the local cannabis market and reduce drug tourism.
Halsema says he expects support from the business community, with many entrepreneurs in the city center no longer in favor of Amsterdam’s reputation for unrestricted access to sex and drugs.
“We can be an open, hospitable and tolerant city, but also a city that makes life difficult for criminals and slows down mass tourism,” she said.