Having spent many years worrying about the social and cultural impacts of tourism, policymakers in Amsterdam are now also beginning to worry about the economic impacts too. Residents and visitors from the Amsterdam Metropolitan Region generate a smaller proportion of revenue for shops and hospitality businesses in Amsterdam than in other major Dutch cities. Businesses are therefore even more dependent on tourists and the fluctuating demand this entails. In Rotterdam, The Hag

The coalition agreement for the new Municipal government in Amsterdam has set out plans to‘fight overtourism’. The basic weapon to be employed is raising the tourist tax, already the highest in the world, to dizzying new heights. The tax on tourist accommodation will be increased from the current 12.5% of the room rate to 16% in 2027, and then by a further 1% every year until it reaches 20%, ‘so that visitors contribute more to the city’. Other measures to try and curtail the

A new twist on the local-tourist debate in Amsterdam is marked by this ironic sticker appearing in the city centre. Tensions around the growing number of ex-pats in the city have been rising as housing shortages have sharpened and populist anti-migrant sentiment has grown. Amsterdam is particularly popular as an ex-pat destination because of the widespread use of English, the open and tolerant nature of the city and the varied cultural scene. Officially, the city is still ope

A recent exhibition in Amsterdam highlighted the disappearance of the rough edges of the city in the face of continuing development. These ‘free spaces’ have offered havens for creativity, alternative lifestyles and sustainability programmes. Many of these locations around the fringes of Amsterdam have operated as cultural incubators, allowing artists to thrive and providing a base for experimental events and happenings. As we pointed out in a recent study of event space in A

Sail Amsterdam has just closed after 5 days of hosting over 10,000 ships and 2.5 million visitors in the city centre. Large scale urban events such as these have many positive impacts, as the Sail website highlights: Sail …“connects, fraternizes, and brings us closer together. In a world that sometimes turns inwards, Amsterdam opens its port to ships and crews from all over the world. The sea does not divide, it unites!” Sail 2025 fills the centre of Amsterdam But mega events

In their efforts to stem the tide of tourists, cities often forget that they have usually been at the forefront of tourism development and promotion. One of the effects of this legacy is that many cities are trying to cut down the numbers of visitors while the number of hotels is growing. This is because it takes years for new hotels to get a licence, so there is usually a reservoir of new hotels waiting to open, even when a city tries to implement a ‘hotel stop’, as Amsterda

At a recent Tourism Society webinar we discussed the increasingly contentious concept of overtourism. One of the issues with overtourism is it suggests that the number of tourists is to blame for a range of problems experienced in cities such as Venice, Barcelona or Amsterdam. These include rising prices, housing shortages and overcrowding. But given the complexity of contemporary urban environments it seems unlikely that tourism can be the root of all these problems. It is