Amsterdam to limit B&B's, cruises in fight against over-tourism

Amsterdam is taking more measures to reduce the number of tourists visiting the city, alderman Sofyan Mbariki announced in a letter to the city council on Friday. The city wants to grant fewer permits for Bed & Breakfasts and is looking into limiting the number of sea- and river cruises, among other things.

According to Mbariki, Amsterdam had 17.1 million tourists spending the night and 23.9 million day visitors last year. The current prognosis sees that increasing to 25.3 million overnight stays and 27.5 million day visitors by 2025, increases of up to 16 and 14 percent, respectively. More measures are clearly needed, he said.

The city is, therefore, considering issuing fewer permits for B&Bs. There are currently over 2,000 of these types of overnight accommodations in Amsterdam. “In light of the increased housing shortage,” that number is too high. The office of mayor and aldermen “believes that the maximum number of B&Bs has been reached in many urban neighborhoods,” Mbarki wrote.

Amsterdam is also considering limiting the number of sea- and river cruises. The city asked an independent research agency to investigate what impact the measure would have on the city and its port. The alderman expects the results after the summer recess.

“Visitors do not only come to Amsterdam by sea or river cruise,” Mbariki said. The city is, therefore, also investigating whether measures can be taken against tourists who arrive via coaches, Schiphol airport, and “cars with foreign number plates.”

The new measures will come on top of other recent interventions in Amsterdam. The city implemented earlier closing times for restaurants, bars, and clubs in the Red Light District on April 1. And on May 25, it banned smoking weed outside on the Red Light City streets. People can still smoke a joint on terraces connected to coffeeshops.