Amsterdam has a message for tourists who want to party hard while visiting the city: Stay away.
The Netherlands’ capital plans to launch a deterrence campaign later this month aimed at tourists who go wild during their visits. In addition to new ads, the city has proposed rules in its infamous Red Light District, such as a ban on smoking marijuana in the street, earlier weekend closing times for bars, clubs and sex-work establishments and reduced alcohol sales.
Amsterdam’s...
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Amsterdam has a message for tourists who want to party hard while visiting the city: Stay away.
The Netherlands’ capital plans to launch a deterrence campaign later this month aimed at tourists who go wild during their visits. In addition to new ads, the city has proposed rules in its infamous Red Light District, such as a ban on smoking marijuana in the street, earlier weekend closing times for bars, clubs and sex-work establishments and reduced alcohol sales.
Amsterdam’s liberal rules for drugs and prostitution have long attracted travelers looking to let loose, but officials say they are taking it too far and harming the quality of life for residents.
Many places are redefining what role they want tourism to play as travel demand soars and people want to knock destinations off their bucket lists. In 2020, the government overseeing Spanish islands including Ibiza introduced restrictions on happy hour, and prohibited pub crawls and party boats in certain areas in response to bad behavior by intoxicated partyers.
“It comes down to: Can cities ultimately choose their visitors?” says Peter Jordan, head of insights at Toposophy, a European agency that advises on destination management. The company has previously worked with Amsterdam’s tourism marketing agency.
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A tourist magnetLocals in Amsterdam had been concerned about the number of tourists before the pandemic, tourism officials say. The city is home to about 920,000 residents, and hosted more than 21 million overnight visitors in 2019, according to a tourism plan from the city. It hosted another 15.7 million overnight stays in 2022, according to Statistics Netherlands.
A number of European airports, including Amsterdam’s Schiphol, have struggled to meet the surging demand.
The city’s visitor forecast predicts that more than 18 million people will visit Amsterdam this year. The city council decided in 2021 that additional measures should be put in place to manage visitation if the number of overnight stays exceeded that number.
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Amsterdam’s leaders assessed city policies during the pandemic, when tourism dropped off, according to city documents. They also discussed the effect of tourism on the housing market and quality of life for people who live in the city center.
“Tourists are still welcome but our hospitality can no longer be at the detriment of our inhabitants’ quality of life and mobility,” the city’s tourism plan says.
A city government spokeswoman declined to comment about the campaign beyond the existing public materials.
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One of the most public measures is an ad campaign dubbed Stay Away, meant to deter visitors who come for the sole purpose of drinking, doing drugs or having sex.
In the past, the city tried to urge good behavior with Enjoy and Respect, a motto and media campaign. Stay Away takes a more blunt approach.
The campaign runs the risk of creating the opposite of its intended effect, says Stephen Hodes, a retired tourism official who previously served as a New York-based director of the Netherlands board of tourism.
“If you have any idea how the human brain works, one thing that doesn’t work is saying don’t come and drink and smoke in Amsterdam because you will not be welcome,” he says. “That is an invitation to come for young people.”
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Ryan Danabie is head of sales for Fun Amsterdam, an event-planning company that organizes stag parties, pub crawls and beer-bike tours. The company has started focusing more on corporate groups, but doesn’t plan to move away from its other offerings, he says. Mr. Danabie expects this year to be the busiest yet.
“We want people to have fun and enjoy themselves, but in a controlled way,” he says.
Amsterdam’s government has proposed relocating legal prostitution from its Red Light District and dispersing tourists to other parts of the city. It is also considering restrictions on short-term rentals to battle rising housing costs.
The new restrictions on bars and marijuana smoking are likely to kick in beginning mid-May, a city government spokeswoman says.
Focus on the airportSchiphol is a top European hub. But the problem of crowding extends beyond international visitors, says Roy Tomassen, general manager of Amsterdam’s Conservatorium Hotel. Dutch locals also like to visit, he says.
Mr. Hodes says tourist volume, not behavior in the Red Light District, is the biggest issue. He supports big and politically contentious changes to tackle visitor numbers. That includes preventing a second airport for low-cost carriers outside the city from opening—it is scheduled to open in 2024 but faces legal challenges—and restricting the number of cruise passengers permitted to disembark.
The Dutch government is capping flights at Schiphol to 460,000 a year starting in November, down from the previous annual limit of 500,000, for environmental reasons. Several airlines, including Delta, are suing the government over the cap.
Unlike Amsterdam, Ibiza doesn’t want to discourage revelers from visiting, tourism officials say. It just wants them to behave better. But if you ask tourists to describe Ibiza in one or two words, they will likely say “party” or “nightlife,” says Juan Miguel Costa, the island’s director of tourism.
“This is a stereotype that hides the other faces of the island,” he says.
Ibiza is more heavily promoting other offerings, including its status as a Unesco World Heritage site.
Tourism officials and marketers predict continued challenges in managing visitation numbers as travel becomes more accessible.
“The world is traveling and we ain’t seen anything yet,” says Mr. Hodes, the retired tourism official.
Write to Allison Pohle at allison.pohle@wsj.com