Sex, drugs and tourism: Amsterdam’s ‘Stay Away’ campaign targets troubled visitors

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Amsterdam (CNN) – It was barely dark on a cold Saturday afternoon in early December. But Amsterdam’s red-light district is already heating up.

During the football matches of the World Cup, enthusiastic exclamations are heard from crowded bars. From the cafe comes the smell of marijuana. Crowds of tourists scurry through the narrow streets, making it difficult, if not impossible, for a car or even a bicycle to pass.

Several men stop to ask sex workers in their underwear posing outside the windows of a brothel about their services. But the vast majority just stare or stare while walking.

At one establishment on the Oudezijds Voorburgwal canal, a middle-aged man in jeans and a baseball cap takes a photo of his friend in front of a window, despite no photography signs. They switch places for another photo and then leave, laughing.

It’s just another day in one of the world’s most infamous tourist destinations. But if the city gets its way, the De Wallen area, as the locals call it, will eventually attract visitors who appreciate its unique heritage, architecture and culture, rather than its vices.

As part of the latest initiative in an ongoing effort to improve Amsterdam’s image, reduce visitor noise and improve the living conditions and safety of residents, the city government recently announced policy proposals to “limit the growth of tourism and inconvenience” and combat overcrowding.

This latest round of proposed measures includes initiatives to tackle problematic tourist behavior, such as limiting the number of river cruises; the introduction of earlier closures for bars, clubs and window brothels; and a ban on smoking cannabis in some parts of the city.

Another part of the initiative aims to “actively scare away foreign visitors planning to ‘go wild’ in Amsterdam”, in what has been called the “stay away” campaign.

“Some businesses are misusing Amsterdam’s image to present it as a place with ‘unlimited possibilities’,” Deputy Mayor Sofjan Mbarka said in a statement. “As a result, some groups of visitors think of it as a city where everything is allowed. This type of tourism, as well as offers specifically designed for these groups, are not considered desirable by the municipal executive power.

The policy proposals, which were announced on November 30 and are part of a broader initiative to address mass tourism, must pass a city council vote on December 21 before they are passed. But someone in Amsterdam’s tourism sector is already on board.

“We have to get rid of the image of sex, drugs and rock and roll,” says Remko Groenhuizen, general manager of the Mövenpick Hotel Amsterdam City Center. “It’s good that we have a city that is a little on the edge. But it’s not free [pass] come here and misbehave.”

“The Right Balance”

Earlier this year, a ban on the sale of alcohol was introduced in Amsterdam's red-light district.

Earlier this year, a ban on the sale of alcohol was introduced in Amsterdam’s red-light district.

Hollands Hoogte / Shutterstock

Groenhuizen says most members of the Amsterdam luxury hotel association of 24 four- and five-star hotels, of which he is chairman, generally approve of the city’s efforts to improve its reputation through various measures to address (and prevent) the ill effects of bad tourist behavior. .

“As hoteliers, we believe a city should be livable, because that’s when it’s nice to come here,” says Groenhuizen. “It’s always been Amsterdam’s strength to have the right balance.”

But in recent years, especially as post-pandemic tourism has come back with a roar, overtourism has disturbingly upset that balance, especially in haunted areas like De Wallen.

Amsterdam is projected to surpass 18 million overnight visitors in 2023, nearly 22 times its population of roughly 822,000. By 2025, this number could reach 23 million, in addition to another 24-25 million daily visits. When the number of overnight visitors reaches 18 million, the city council is “obligated to intervene” through a 2021 ordinance called “Amsterdam tourism in balance”.

During an interview at the bustling city center office of Amsterdam & Partners, a public and private marketing non-profit organization, director Gerte Udo estimated that 10 to 15% of Amsterdam’s tourism industry is located in the red light district. But combine pesky tourists with the problem of overcrowding, and on the weekends “these days the old city center is really, really uninhabitable,” Udo says, noting that some streets are particularly problematic.

Udo described the city’s tourism reboot as a layered approach with specific campaigns targeting unique groups of visitors, while rebranding Amsterdam as a destination with appeal far beyond brothels and cannabis cafes – along with making the city safer and more more livable for residents and more attractive for visitors.

One specific measure, for example, will target day visitors, many of whom come from the Netherlands as well as neighboring countries, including Germany, and sleep in their cars rather than stay at a hotel.

When discussing plans, Udo often avoids using the term “red-light district”. “Now it has become sort of a theme park name for the area,” she explains. “And if we … want to change the perception, you shouldn’t keep talking about the red light district if you’d rather the red lights go out.”

Erotic center is not working yet

Tourists crowd the area in this photo taken before the pandemic in March 2019.

Tourists crowd the area in this photo taken before the pandemic in March 2019.

Peter Dejong/AP

Those infamous fires are still burning. But perhaps the most contentious aspect of the city’s tourism reboot is that it could tarnish next year depending on the status of a proposed “erotic center” that would move brothel shop windows into a single building located on the outskirts of the city.

The project was originally conceived as “erotic hotel” Femke Halsema, mayor of Amsterdam, elected in 2018 as the first female mayor of the capital of the Netherlands.
It received the endorsement of some groups, including various political parties, and was heavily criticized by others, most notably sex workers.

They argue that the lack of visibility from the windows makes their work less safe, and the location of the center in a remote area of ​​the city, away from well-known tourist areas, will harm their business.

Jeroen de Jong, COO Guided tours of the red light district of Amsterdamwhose app offers self-guided tours of the area (private tours were banned in early 2020) predicted that the erotic center would “fail and become a financial disaster”.

De Jong also noted that there are several other areas around Amsterdam with windowed brothels. “Sex workers can already work in different places in the capital,” he said by email.

One can only guess when the 15,000-square-foot multi-story center that architect on request on board, will be officially opened. After fierce opposition first eight places offeredthe city has postponed the decision and may expand the list to include additional properties, Dutch newspaper Het Parool reported.
However, Halsema is still determined. “I hope that you can create an erotic center that will have some class and distinction, and will be a place where not only petty criminals, the most vulnerable women, but also people who are not ashamed to go there gather,” she told the media. . DutchNews.NL this autumn.

“Leave it”

Dutch brothels reopened after Covid in July 2020.

Dutch brothels reopened after Covid in July 2020.

Kenzo Tribuillard/AFP/Getty Images

The future of the Red Light District may be unclear, but for now, things are moving forward. And for the many employees and customers who frequent adult novelty stores, cannabis cafes, porn shows and other businesses in the neighborhood, that’s the way it should be.

“[Government] just wants to regress everything, clean it up, return all those fancy houses to rich people,” says Linda Nap, an employee at a sex accessories store in De Wallen, in between the constant flow of customers.

Instead of wasting money on anti-tourism campaigns, de Jong said, the city would be much better off if it increased its police presence in the red-light district, a common request from locals and businesses. “You can often hear the complaint: “We don’t need more rules, but more security forces and police,” he says.

Nep, who says many of her clients are sex workers, says the city’s ongoing measures will rob the neighborhood of its unique spirit, which, like the profession it’s built around, has flourished for centuries. And while she understands residents’ frustration with overcrowding and noise, she maintains that the realities of life in the neighborhood have always been very visible.

“[The sex industry] has been here since the 1600s — people come here for more than just the canals and tulips,” says Nap. – Leave it alone. If you have problems, then move to another place.

(Top image: De Wallen district in Amsterdam. Sylvain Sonnet/The Image Bank Unreleased/Getty Images)