This week, the Netherlands eased many of the corona measures, including mandating the use of bandages.
The only significant rule that still stands is a rule of one and a half meters distance to others. At the same time, Europe is also opening up and tourists are flocking.
– Amsterdam needs tourists. If not, our museums and restaurants will not survive, says Nicola Theobald CNN. She has lived in the city center for over 30 years.
Campaign from the city council
But the locals do not want one group: Vulgar and drunk tourists who come for drugs and sex.
– POPULAR: The Red Light District is one of the most popular and busy attraction in Amsterdam. During the pandemic, it was quiet and calm here. It wants the locals to continue. Photo: Peter Dejong / AP
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That is why the city council has launched a campaign that will shake off Amsterdam’s stamp as a “party city”. The cost of the campaign should be about 100,000 euros.
– We do not want to go back to the way it was before the pandemic, with large crowds in the Red Light District that make noise and disturb the inhabitants, the city council says in a press release.
Positive effect
In 2019, the city had a similar campaign aimed at British tourists to stop disturbances and littering.
With the name “Enjoy and Respect”, the visitor warned with fines of up to 140 euros, equivalent to 1500 Norwegian kroner.
In a subsequent survey, 45 per cent of British tourists answered that they had become more aware of their own behavior as a result of the campaign.
– There should be a ban
But not everyone is happy with the city council’s efforts. Economist Martijn Badir believes that stricter rules and bans are required to solve the “tourist problem”. In 2020, he launched a signature campaign that received over 30,000 signatures.
In it, he argued that the authorities must improve the quality of life of Amsterdam’s inhabitants and limit the number of tourists to 12 million. In 2019, the city had almost 22 million visitors, according to Dutch News.
– There should be a ban on foreign tourists going to a coffee shop.
Badir also believes that the sex industry in the Red Light District must be moved out of the city center. The same was proposed by mayor Femke Halsema last summer, writes CNN.
Almost normal after reopening
Life is almost back to normal in the Netherlands after most coronary restrictions were lifted on Saturday.
– POPULAR: Danish and Dutch football fans in line for coronation test before the match between Denmark and Wales in Amsterdam. Photo: AP / NTB
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Almost half a year after the closure, nightclubs reopened at midnight Saturday night. Restrictions were also lifted for restaurants, museums and theaters, and football fans can watch the European Championship matches in cafes and pubs.
The Netherlands currently registers around 29 new cases of infection per 100,000 inhabitants per week. More than 50 percent of the population has received the first vaccine dose, and every third is fully vaccinated, shows fresh numbers.
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