The city of Amsterdam is looking to dramatically cut the number of river cruises arriving in the capital in a bid to reduce the number of tourists visiting the city. The measure is set to be one of around one hundred measures taken to try to tackle overtourism in the capital.

More than 1.000 river cruises could be slashed

Under the proposed new measures, more than 1.000 river cruises could be cut from the annual arrivals schedule by 2028. In 2023, around 2.300 river cruises docked in Amsterdam to drop off tourists - a number the municipality hopes to bring down to just 1.150 annual river cruises. 

The loss in river cruises would cut tourist numbers by 271.000 per annum, and would lead to a financial loss of 73,5 million euros. City finance chief Hester van Buren reiterated the goals of the municipality to reduce the number of tourists visiting the city: “We have a commitment to keep tourist numbers under 20 million a year,” Van Buren said. 

There will also be a ban on new hotels in Amsterdam

As part of the package of measures, there will also be a ban on the construction of new hotels in the city. Though there will be some exceptions to the rule, the policy seeks to ensure that only existing hotels will be able to acquire new sites in the city, and they will not be able to accommodate more guests than they currently have the capacity to.

The municipality wants to keep the number of tourist overnight stays below 20 million a year, but even in 2023 this goal was not achieved. There were a grand total of 20.665.000 hotel stays in the city last year, excluding those who stayed in holiday homes, B&Bs and cruises. The limit of 20 million overnight stays a year came from a petition signed by 30.000 Amsterdam residents who called for caps on tourist numbers. 

Van Buren went on to explain that the city is keen not to discriminate about what type of tourists come to the city, rather that the measures are strictly being undertaken to tackle overcrowding. “We are not going to divide tourists up into good and bad. This is one of a string of measures to reduce the number of tourists in total. It is about the overcrowding and the coaches parked all over the pavements.”

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