Amsterdam has launched a new tool in its arsenal against nuisance tourists: a questionnaire to get travellers to reconsider their intentions on their trip to the city. The campaign is part of the Stay Away campaign launched in 2023 to discourage rowdy groups of Brits, Italians, Spanish and French from coming to cause trouble in the Red Light District or indulge in drug tourism.

What famous Dutch products would you like to try / buy? Cocaine?

The questionnaire will ask people searching terms such as “Amsterdam coffeeshop” and “Amsterdam stag do” via Google ads. The questionnaire will ask things such as “What famous Dutch products would you like to try / buy?” with answers ranging from “poffertjes” and “tulips” to “cocaine” and “molly”. 

The questionnaire will then attempt to nudge behaviour of respondents by explaining the consequences of these decisions, or explain that, for example, taking cocaine in the Netherlands remains illegal despite misconceptions about the country’s drug policy. 

Amsterdam councillor Sofyan Mbarki unveiled the campaign on March 13, explaining that the new project will act as a “Stay Away” 2.0 campaign. The original campaign consisted of videos of the dangers of partying too hard in Amsterdam - examples include clips of a drunk man getting arrested and ending up being fined 140 euros, while other clips show people ending up in life-endangering situations after taking drugs and requiring medical care.

The questionnaire is already live for tourists planning a trip from the UK

The questionnaire is already live for British tourists planning to come to Amsterdam. There will soon be sites available for the questionnaire to be taken in Italian, Spanish, French and even a site for troublesome Dutch tourists to Amsterdam. 

The campaign is set to run until the end of 2024. The Ministry of Justice and Security will contribute around 85.000 euros to combat drug tourism, while the municipality of Amsterdam is footing 55.000 euros of the bill. There is also an advertising budget: 25.000 euros has now been spent on the site for British people.

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