Pop venue De Helling in Utrecht banned smoking completely starting this week. According to the bar, it is the first nightlife venue in the Netherlands to do so, RTL Nieuws reports.
"We had wanted to organize our bar more flexibly for some time", the organization said. "Because of the smoking area we were short on space. In addition, the complete ban on smoking in hospitality establishments is imminent. So 1+1=2 actually."
The Ministry of Public Health Welfare and Sports wants to close all smoking areas in restaurants in bars, restaurants and other catering establishments in the Netherlands within two years. State Secretary Paul Blokhuis will announce this on Friday, sources in The Hague told NOS.
The number of bars in the Netherlands decreased by 4 percent to 8,950 over the past five years, according to hospitality consulting company Van Spronsen & Partners. The consultancy attributes the decrease in bars to Dutch teenagers and young people being increasingly focused on a healthier lifestyle, AD reports.
Hotels, restaurants and bars in the Netherlands saw a turnover increase of nearly 2 percent in the second quarter of this year, compared to the first quarter, Statistics Netherlands reported on Thursday. The hospitality industry's turnover has been increasing steadily for four years.
All parts of the hospitality industry saw a turnover increase in the second quarter. Fast food restaurants - which includes snack bars, lunchrooms, meal deliverers and ice cream shops - saw the biggest growth at 2.5 percent.
After years of delays, Amsterdam RAI is getting its own hotel and with its 650 rooms, Nhow RAI will win the title of largest hotel in the Netherlands. The design of the building was chosen from eleven candidates and is designed by Rem Koolhaas from well-known Rotterdam architecture firm OMA.
In Rotterdam, Café De Witte Aap has been told to close its doors for at least two weeks after a 33-year-old man from Capelle aan den IJssel was wounded in a stabbing last Wednesday, the NOS reports.
A Dutch tourist was brutally attacked at the Bijeli San bar in Porec, western Croatia, after an argument over a bill in a cafe, according to local media there. After a dispute between the man and the bartenders, the bar staff reportedly beat the tourist, leaving him with fractures and a concussion.
The crowning of Willem-Alexander on the 30th of April will bring a few millions euro extra income to retailers. However it won’t come close to the extra income earned during soccer championships. A representative of retail the Netherlands, Detailhandel Nederland, said this.
