Amsterdam bans red light district guided tours to beat
tourist boom
Society March 20, 2019
Amsterdam is banning all organised tours from the city’s red
light district and has placed a maximum of 15 participants on guided tours
throughout the rest of the medieval centre. The measure is the latest in a
string of plans to reduce the nuisance caused by too many tourists in the
oldest part of the city, which locals say is making it impossible to live
there. The ban on tours, with titles such as ‘tour the red light with mistress
Lola’, will come into effect on January 1 next year and includes pub crawls and
other organised guided walks. ‘We do not consider it appropriate for tourists
to leer at sex workers,’ alderman Udo Kock said, announcing the plans. Research
shows that more than 1,000 organised groups spend time on Oudekerksplein in the heart of the red light
district every week, with a peak of 28 an hour in the early evening. City officials
have been tightening the controls on groups of tourists in the red light
district for the past year. Guides now need to have proper papers, there is a
limit on numbers and a ban on late night group excursions. Guides outside the
red light district will now have to have permits as well, city officials say.
The new measures introduced across the city centre also include a ban on free
tours and touting for participants, and the introduction of a tourist tax on
ticket prices. Urban jungle Amsterdam’s ombudsman made international headlines
last year describing the city’s red light district as an ‘urban jungle’. And
while the measures introduced so far have resulted in a drop in the nuisance
experienced by local residents, two-thirds still say they are bothered by the
guided visits. In addition, four in five prostitutes say that the presence of
guided tours is hurting their business. Local councillors and city mayor Femke
Halsema have all suggested moving the red light district to a new location as
an option.
Read more at DutchNews.nl:
Red light district needs long term vision says Amsterdam
ombudsman
Society January 14,
2019
Amsterdam’s ombudsman, who made international headlines last
year describing the city’s red light district as an ‘urban jungle’ has
published a string of recommendations to clean up the area. Arre Zuurmond, who
spent some time living in the district to get to know the problems better, has
spoken to more than 100 locals, police officers and council officials to draw
up his final report after a three-year project. The ombudsman has identified
seven key causes for concern: litter, over-tourism, public nuisance;
homelessness, sex work, drugs and criminal infiltration. Amsterdam’s image is
that of a city where everything is possible and the red light district is
praised as a tourist attraction worldwide,’ the report states. ‘Stag and hen
parties, pub crawls – the overuse of drink and drugs by this group of tourists
are a primary cause of problems, but also tax the system in terms of hospital
services.’ There are no simple solutions to this and efforts need to be made to
develop a long-term vision for the area, Zuurmond said. In the short term,
however, there are a number of steps which officials can take, the report said.
Officials could ban eating and drinking in certain areas to cut down on litter
and the city, as shareholder, can pressure Schiphol to reduce the number of
cheap flights, the report said. There should be more camera supervision to
crack down on waste dumping, government inspectors should check bars and cafes
at night as well as during the day, and more must be done to limit the problems
caused by too many taxis. Drugs The problem of drugs dealers – an estimated 300
tout their trade in the district – also needs to be addressed and efforts must
be made to change Amsterdam’s reputation as the drugs capital of Europe. This
would also lessen the exposure of Amsterdam children to drugs at a young age
and help cut down on crime, the report states. Crime and criminal infiltration
also need to be tackled, the report says. ‘Brothel owners often run bars,
Airbnb and souvenir shops,’ the report said. ‘They have a hand in the entire
chain and this leads to the circulation of lots of black money. Economic
Efforts must also be made to rehouse the group of 30 to 50 homeless people who
live in the red light district, who are often drunk and cause considerable
problems, the ombudsman said. Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema, who said last
year that moving the red light district to a new location would be an option,
said the council is already taking short-term steps to improve the situation
but agreed a long term view is needed. In the past the area has been regulated
as an ‘economic zone’, not the cultural and historic district is is, she
pointed out.
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