Fight against overtourism: Amsterdam bans cruise ships from the city

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Amsterdam wants to ban cruise ships from entering the city centre. The city parliament passed a corresponding motion by a large majority on Thursday evening. The ban is another measure taken to combat mass tourism and increasing air pollution. Therefore, the terminal in the IJ water body near the main train station should be relocated.

“The polluting cruises do not fit our city’s sustainable goals,” said left-liberal politician Ilana Rooderkerk. “It’s time to act, the climate doesn’t wait.” A study by the research institute CE Delft showed that a cruise ship in the port of Amsterdam emits as many pollutants as 31,000 trucks on the city highway in one day.

Venice as an example

D66, the ruling party in Amsterdam, also refers to Venice, which has not allowed large cruise ships since 2021. According to a recently published study, pollutant emissions have decreased by 80 percent since then.

The decision is not surprising: the first plans were made in 2016. The question is how quickly the decision can be implemented. Because first a terminal needs to be built somewhere else away from the center of Amsterdam.

“Passengers are a scourge of locusts”

Banning cruise ships is another measure against mass tourism. About 20 million visitors come to the city of some 800,000 inhabitants each year – many of which fill the historic ring of canals, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

About 300,000 passengers per year on large cruise ships is only a relatively small proportion, but this is also a beacon for the city. Recently, politicians have complained that passengers will descend into the city like “grasshoppers”.

Until now, the rules for renting apartments to vacationers have been severely restricted, for example, with the Airbnb service. Working hours of taverns and brothels in the Red Light district were shortened. Smoking weed is no longer allowed in the old centre. The capital is trying to drive away the famous British party tourists with the “Stay Away” campaign launched on social media. (pbe/SDA)

Source :Blick