Amsterdam has banned cruise ships from docking within the metropolis centre in its newest try to chop tourism and air pollution.
Politicians within the Dutch capital stated cruise ships have been “incompatible” with their sustainability ambitions for the town, which, regardless of its comparatively small dimension, is likely one of the most visited in Europe.
It comes after the Dutch capital launched a “stay away” campaign in March in a bid to discourage folks – notably younger British males – from selecting the town as a celebration and stag-do vacation spot.
In February, the council additionally banned people from smoking cannabis in the streets of the town’s well-known red-light district and ordered bars and eating places to close by 2am on Fridays and Saturdays.
The cruise ship ban will consequence within the closure of the town’s central terminal on the River IJ, close to Amsterdam’s foremost prepare station.
The proposal was adopted by a big majority of the town’s council, which is run by a coalition of the centrist Democrats 66 celebration (D66), the social democratic PvdA and the GroenLinks environmentalists.
D66 politician Ilana Rooderkerk, who in contrast cruise passengers to a “plague of locust” in an opinion piece final month, stated Amsterdam would “sail higher” with out cruise ships.
“The polluting cruise isn’t in keeping with Amsterdam’s sustainable ambitions,” she wrote on Twitter.
“Cruise ships within the metropolis centre additionally don’t slot in with the duty of combating mass tourism.”
Her celebration stated plans to construct a brand new bridge between Amsterdam’s historic southern district and the Noord district would even be inconceivable if cruise ships have been allowed to proceed docking within the metropolis centre.
Different websites from cruise ships have been thought-about, although no determination has but been made on the place it could possibly be positioned.
Mayor Femke Halsema, from the GroenLinks celebration, complained about cruise ship passengers in an interview with Dutch media in November.
She stated that they didn’t profit the town’s residents as a result of they solely visited for a “couple of hours”, ate meals at “worldwide manufacturers” and had “little time” to go to museums.
Femke Halsema. Pic: AP
Ms Halsema, the town’s first feminine mayor, has been the face of Amsterdam’s marketing campaign to scrub up its streets, which welcome as much as 22 million vacationers every year, regardless of the town’s comparatively small dimension.
Its popularity as a celebration metropolis, with its hashish cafes and historic red-light district, has led it to turn into a preferred vacation spot for stag-dos.
In a wide-ranging interview with Bloomberg final yr, she stated: “Amsterdam welcomes 22 million vacationers per yr, and that is a bit bit an excessive amount of.
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“It isn’t a type of tourism we welcome or do not welcome – it is a type of behaviour. What we don’t welcome is individuals who come right here on a trip from morals.
“It is a spot the place it is best to go should you’re on the lookout for lovely museums, or to see the underground tradition, or if you wish to attend our Delight.”
Amsterdam isn’t the primary European metropolis to ban cruise ships from its metropolis centre.
Venice banned cruise ships from its metropolis centre in April 2021, following a request from UN cultural physique Unesco.
Whereas Barcelona has not outright banned cruise ships, it has made efforts to restrict the quantity arriving in its docks.
It needs to chop the variety of cruise vacationers from 400,000 monthly to 200,000.