Amsterdam has launched a digital campaign warning rowdy British sex and drug tourists to 'stay away'. The initiative, targeting men aged 18 to 35 in the UK, is part of efforts to clean up the city's reputation as Europe's most liberal party capital.
The online ads, triggered by search terms like 'stag party' and 'pub crawl Amsterdam', show young men staggering in the street, handcuffed by police, and having their mugshots taken. The message is uncompromising: a long weekend in Amsterdam may create the wrong kind of memories, and the escapism you crave could result in inescapable convictions.
Critics argue the campaign is discriminatory and based on unfair stereotypes. Joachim Helms, owner of the Greenhouse coffee shop, said attempts to exclude some based on age and gender violated the principles of freedom, tolerance, and equality that Amsterdam prides itself on.
Amsterdam, with a population of around 883,000, receives about 20 million visitors annually, including a million Brits. Over-tourism has compelled the council to act, with measures including earlier closing times for brothels and bars, a ban on smoking cannabis on the streets in the Red Light District, and plans to move sex worker windows to a new 'erotic zone'.
Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki said visitors remain welcome but not if they misbehave and cause nuisance. Locals, however, say the problem is not just young men but the sheer numbers, with one family describing the feeling of living in 'Disneyland or a zoo'.
