British tourists staying away from Amsterdam red light district after rule changes
The number of Brits visiting Amsterdam is declining - suggesting it's 'stay away' campaign has been a success.
The Dutch city launched a digital campaign earlier this year with the aim of 'discouraging' rowdy visitors descending from the UK.
Officials launched a fierce crackdown on anti-social behaviour to rebrand its raunchy reputation as a party capital for tourists.
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Brits were bombarded with online adverts showing them the potential outcome of boozy behaviour in the Dutch capital.
Men aged 18-35 were confronted with posters of drunks being handcuffed, finger-printed and having their mugshot taken by police.
Another showed a young bloke being arrested and thrown into the cells alongside the caption: "So, coming to Amsterdam for a messy night? Stay away."
Deputy mayor Sofyan Mbarki said: "Visitors are still welcome, but not if they misbehave and cause nuisance. As a city, we are saying: we’d rather not have this, so stay away."
Locals have long complained that tourists were nuisances who urinate in public, fight in the streets and vomit in the famous canals.
The viral voice note of the woman who allegedly had an X-rated 'encounter' with her own dad probably hasn't done us any favours either.
It seems that could have been the final nail in the coffin for UK holidaymakers, meaning the days of stag and hen parties doing pub crawls around the city might now be over.
Brits have clearly taken heed of the stark warnings from authorities and seem to have been warded off booking a trip to Amsterdam.
The Netherlands has seen a 22 percent decline in British arrivals this year, in comparison to pre-Covid levels in 2019.
The Dutch government even put a cap on the number of flights landing at Schiphol - for environmental reasons, as well as trying to reduce noise for residents.
This has caused some frustrations for airlines, with KLM branding the move 'incomprehensible'.
Although most tourist boards would be in crisis mode due to the decline in visitors, the city are celebrating the news.
The Netherlands applauded the effectiveness of the 'stay away' campaign at the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) annual conference last week.
The figures were presented by ForwardKeys, which took a look at booking data for the industry and Amsterdam.
Vice-president of insights Olivier Ponti said: "The Netherlands has put a cap on air connectivity.
"That is obviously a hurdle and they have launched demarketing campaigns telling people to stay at home."
The Netherlands may roll out their 'stay away' campaign across other EU countries to deter other 'nuisance-causing visitors' over the coming year.
Bar owner and chair of local business association Robbert Overmeer said Brits aren't the only bad ones in the bunch.
He told the Daily Star: "It’s not only the English who make problems. Banning non-residents from buying drugs in coffee shops is the way to stop it."
Topics: Travel, World News, UK News, Drugs
Olivia Burke