Amsterdam moves to ban bachelor parties
An Amsterdam politician wants to crack down on ‘drunk, puking’ bachelor parties
The European city of Amsterdam has had enough of rowdy tourists disturbing locals.
The Netherlands' capital launched an online campaign this week hoping to deter those who want to take drugs, get drunk and party in the city. The campaign is specifically targeting British men aged 18-35 years old.
"Visitors who want to visit Amsterdam to ‘go wild’ and search online with various search terms such as ‘stag party Amsterdam’, ‘cheap hotel Amsterdam’ and ‘pub crawl Amsterdam’, will be shown warning advertisements," the city announced in a press release.
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General view of Red Light District on December 10, 2022 in Amsterdam, Netherlands.De Wallen, Amsterdams red-light district, is internationally known and one of the main tourist attractions of the city. It offers legal prostitution and a number of coffee shops that sell marijuana. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images)
Tourists will be shown the "risks and consequences" of "excessive drug and alcohol abuse," in a video depicting a young man getting arrested. The campaign warns rowdy tourists to "stay away" or they could "be fined, arrested by the police, get a criminal record" or be "hospitalized" because of their behavior.
In Amsterdam, cannabis coffee shops and legalized prostitution in the Red Light District attract millions of tourists every year.
Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki said tourists were still welcome "but not if they misbehave and cause nuisance."
"In that case we as a city will say: rather not, stay away," he added. "[T]o keep our city liveable we now have to choose for restriction instead of irresponsible growth."
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AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - DECEMBER 9: General view of Red Light District on December 9, 2022 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. The area that comprises the 17th century canal belt within the Singelgracht is included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites (. (Photo by Stefano Guidi/Getty Images))
Amsterdam is taking other measures to clean up the city such as closing bars and brothels earlier in the day and banning smoking marijuana on the streets in the Red Light District, the BBC reported.
Some locals spoke out against the campaign to the BBC, finding the campaign's target of British males discriminatory. One local family said it was the sheer number of tourists that were causing a nuisance for their city.
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"It feels like we're living in Disneyland or a zoo," the Visser family told the BBC.
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