More tourism, fewer investments give Amsterdam coffers a €200 million boost

Last year, Amsterdam made 196.5 million euros more than it spent, according to the annual accounts presented by alderman Hester van Buren (Finance). The surplus is largely due to the unexpectedly rapid return of tourists and fewer investments made in projects struggling to get off the ground due to staff shortages, Parool reports.

The plus on the budget is an unexpected windfall for the treasury. The municipality had expected to end 2022 with a shortfall of 37.1 million euros.

A big contribution to the windfall is the end of the coronavirus restrictions. Due to previous lockdowns and their lingering effects, Amsterdam expected a loss of 65 million euros in revenue on the tourist tax. But tourists returned to the city faster than expected in 2022, so tourism revenues came out 18 million euros higher than estimated.

Amsterdam also received 44.2 million euros more from the national government than expected. Amsterdam's annual contribution grows and shrinks with national expenditure, which turned out higher than expected as the government increased Defense spending and still paid coronavirus support measures.

Another contributing factor is staff shortages. The city is spending less on staff because it can’t fill vacancies. Staff shortages also meant 4.5 million euros less spent on maintenance of quays and bridges and 45.7 million euros not invested in several projects.

Amsterdam will spend part of the unexpected windfall in the near future, but the majority will be used to replenish the municipal savings. Partly due to the coronavirus crisis, the city’s general reserve shrunk to nearly 75 million euros - too little to absorb future crises. Amsterdam hopes to restore its piggy bank to 302 million euros by 2024.