Party tourists from the United Kingdom still know where to find Amsterdam. The Stay Away campaign launched at the beginning of this year does not make the city less attractive, the municipality writes. Nevertheless, the campaign is being further developed and expanded to other countries.
The stay-away campaign has partly changed tourists’ image of Amsterdam, mayor Femke Halsema and councilor Sofyan Mbarki (city center approach) write in a letter to the city council. This way, visitors are more aware of the rules. They just cannot indicate exactly what new restrictions (such as a smoking ban) there are.
“In the further development of the discouragement campaign, we are looking at whether we can make the campaign messages more specific, in order to sharpen the image of the city for this target group,” the letter states.
The results are at odds with the reporting of some British media such as The Independent. They wrote that the number of tourists from the United Kingdom to Amsterdam has fallen by 22 percent compared to 2019 and linked this to the campaign. But the campaign does not seem to play a role in this. The decrease is probably because traveling to Europe has become a lot more expensive for Britons.
The decrease in tourists is palpable for entrepreneurs in the city center. Pub owners in particular notice that it is less busy. Rina Jongebloet from Café Emmelot says she even needs the British tourists.
British tourists seemed unimpressed shortly after the campaign launched:
The discouragement campaign is now entering its second phase. From the beginning of next year, the municipality will investigate the most effective way to limit nuisance from tourists. The campaign will also target tourists from other European countries and the Netherlands itself.
The municipality hopes not only to reduce the number of party tourists, but to attract fewer tourists in the first place. “Unlike ten years ago, we now look at culture, diversity, the local economy, international companies and the negative consequences of overtourism in a new way. Further developing and communicating a realistic and appealing image of the city and Amsterdam residents is central in the coming years.”