AMSTERDAM - Amsterdam will no longer allow new hotel buildings to be built as part of its fight against mass tourism, the local government said this week.
“We want to make and keep the city liveable for residents and visitors. This means: no overtourism, no new hotels, and no more than 20 million hotel overnight stays by tourists per year,” it said in a statement.
A new hotel in Amsterdam can only be built if another hotel closes, if the number of sleeping places doesn’t increase, and if the new hotel will be better, for example more sustainable.
However, the rule does not apply to new hotels that have already secured permits.
The Dutch city has been actively trying to limit tourist numbers, which run into the millions per year, mainly by discouraging sex- and drug-related tourism to the red-light district.
Last year it began an online “Stay Away” campaign, with young British men its first target.
Overtourism is also becoming a growing concern in Spain, one of the world’s most-visited countries. On Saturday, thousands of demonstrators rallied across the Canary Islands to demand changes to the model of mass tourism they say is overwhelming the archipelago.
“We are not against tourism,” local resident Rosario Correo told TVE, the Spanish public television network. “We’re asking that they change this model that allows for unlimited growth of tourism.”
Last year, 16 million people visited the Canary Islands, more than seven times its population of 2.2 million, which demonstrators say is unsustainable.
Spain as a whole welcomed a record 85.1 million visitors last year.