The political group Amsterdam Has a Choice (Amsterdam Heeft een Keuze) filed a suit against the city urging officials to do more to combat mass tourism. According to Travel Pulse, a 2021 bill attempted to curb an influx of stays at 18 million, but reports indicate that in 2024 the city saw 23 million overnight stays, and projections for 2026 are as high as 25 million.
A statement from Amsterdam Has a Choice reads: “Amsterdammers are fed up. Local shops are giving way to souvenir shops and Nutella stores. Houses and public buildings are being converted into hotels, and you can barely walk on the sidewalks because of the long lines at TikTok hotspots.” The group has accumulated 30,000 signatures from Amsterdam residents petitioning against mass tourism. They also raised around €50,000 to fund their lawsuit.
Amsterdam has tried to impose rules and regulations to mitigate the influx of tourists. A tourist tax charges visitors an additional 12.5% of their room bill, and cruise line visitors must pay €14.50 for visits. The city also plans to cap the number of river cruise calls at 1,150 ships per year.
Amsterdam has also vowed to convert hotels into homes and/or offices, ban the construction of new hotels, and prohibit public cannabis smoking in the city center. They have even campaigned to discourage bachelor and bachelorette parties from taking place in the city.
Amsterdam Has a Choice has made it clear they are not against tourism, but rather the effects of tourism that have spiraled out of control. “When shops for residents disappear from entire parts of the city and one in five Amsterdammers avoid the most beautiful city center in the world, something is seriously wrong,” they said.
