Amsterdam considers banning tourists from cannabis cafes

Amsterdam isplagued by overflowing hordesof tourists and is considering a ban on visitors from cannabis-vending coffee shops, to balance the quality of life for locals and the demands of travellers.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Young tourists commissioned by Mayor Femke Halsema conducted a survey which revealed that half the respondents chose to visit the Dutch capital because they wanted to experience a cannabis cafe.

The survey sought to investigate "what would happen to the willingness of tourists to visit Amsterdam if either the availability or accessibility of one or more of these factors shouldreduce or disappear," by observing the most popular reasons for visiting Amsterdam.

Addressing the ever-increasing flood of tourists has been a consistent issue for Amsterdam, as the famously liberal city strains to deal with a surge in visitors and vulgar vacationists.

Approximately 57 per cent of respondents put coffee shops near the top of their list of important reasons for coming to Amsterdam, while 34 per cent indicatedthey'd come to Amsterdamless often if they weren't able to visit coffee shops.

Eleven per cent stated that the sole reason they werevisiting is for the cannabis cafe. Halsema, before conducting the survey, sent a letter to councillors and suggested that the city's coffee shops can put "the quality of life in the city centre under pressure."

On April 1, 2020, new measures will be in place to regulate group tours of the area and prevent tour groups from passing the red-light windows, touring past 10 pm and idling in "places that are sensitive to pressure" such as narrow bridges or new entryways.

Anyone found in violation of the rules would be fined $205.