Residents threaten to take Amsterdam to court over mass tourism

Amsterdam is not doing enough to curb the growth of mass tourism, according to the citizens’ initiative Amsterdam has a Choice. The group wants to go to court and is sending the municipality a formal notice as a first step. In this notice, the authors demand that the municipality adhere to its own regulation from 2021.

That year, the Amsterdam city council set the maximum number of tourist overnight stays in the city at 20 million per year. That upper limit has been significantly exceeded in the past two years, according to the municipality’s own research. This year, the lowest forecast expects over 23 million overnight stays, and the highest is 26 million. For 2026, those figures are even higher (between 23.6 million and 26.6 million).

In an open letter in Het Parool, the citizens’ initiative pointed out the consequences of mass tourism: “Local shops are having to make way for souvenir shops, hotels and B&Bs are popping up everywhere, and sidewalks are impassable due to large groups. The Amsterdam atmosphere is disappearing. Tourism is something beautiful, and tourism is part of Amsterdam, but there has to be a balance to keep it beautiful.”

The cap that was introduced in 2021 was the direct result of a petition by Amsterdam has a Choice, which had 30,000 signatures. Since then, the group has seen some improvement. For example, the city increased the tourist tax and banned river cruises. “But much more needs to be done to reduce the nuisance caused by mass tourism,” said initiator Jasper van Dijk. “I, as an Amsterdammer, adhere to local regulations. I expect the municipality to adhere to its own rules as well.”

The letter of formal notice will be sent to the responsible alderman, Sofyan Mbarki (economic affairs), this Monday. He has two weeks to respond. If nothing comes of it, a summons will follow, said co-initiator Jacques Huppes.