Amsterdam bans cruise ships to restrict tourists and limit pollution

Amsterdam's council has banned cruise ships from the city centre as the Dutch capital looks to limit tourists and clamp down on pollution. Credit: AP

Amsterdam has banned cruise ships from the centre of the city as part of efforts to limit tourism and cut pollution.

It comes after the Dutch capital launched a “Stay Away” campaign in March in a bid to deter people intending to visit and engage in rowdy behaviour.

The initiative is targeted at young British men, alerting them to the negative consequences of their actions on locals as well as potential punishments.

The campaign by the Dutch city's council is part of its efforts to clean up the city known for both its beautiful architecture, art and canals as well as its liberal attitude to cannabis and prostitution.

Centre-right party D66 said cruises are incompatible with its sustainability ambitions.

Amsterdam is one of a few European cities with a tourism tax. Credit: PA

Its proposal to shut Amsterdam’s cruise ship terminal east of its main railway station was adopted by a large majority of the city’s council, it added.

D66 runs the city with social democrats PvdA and GroenLinks environmentalists.

It said Amsterdam must reduce the number of tourists – with removing passengers from cruise ships one way of doing it.

The party said the proposed building of a new bridge over the River IJ is impossible if cruise ships remain.

Amsterdam city council produced a video deterring people from coming to their city for a "messy night"

In a video produced for its 'Stay Away' campaign in March, two officers are seen arresting a drunk man and while warning against coming to the city for a "messy night."

It ends with: "So coming to Amsterdam for a messy night? Stay away."

The city council said they still wanted to accept visitors to the city but this was specifically aimed at "nuisance tourists who want to visit Amsterdam to ‘go wild’."

They said the campaign is being initially targeted at British men aged between 18-35, with plans to extend it to other countries in Europe.

People searching for "stag party Amsterdam", "cheap hotel Amsterdam" and "pub crawl Amsterdam", will be shown warning advertisements.

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