Amsterdam intensifies fight against mass tourism and bans cruise ships How Putin wants to control the Arctic

Amsterdam wants to keep cruise ships out of the city center. The city council passed a similar motion with a large majority on Thursday evening.

The ban is another measure in the fight against mass tourism and increasing air pollution. The terminal on the IJ near the central station must therefore be moved.

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

Government party D66 in Amsterdam also refers to Venice, which has no longer allowed large cruise ships since 2021. Since then, pollutant emissions have fallen by 80 percent, according to a recently published study.

The decision comes as no surprise: the first plans were already made in 2016. The question is how quickly the decision can be implemented. Because first a terminal has to be built somewhere else, far away from the center of Amsterdam.

The ban on cruise ships is another measure against mass tourism. Every year, some 20 million visitors come to the city of some 800,000 inhabitants – most people come around the historic canal belt, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. About 300,000 passengers a year on the large cruise ships is only a relatively small part, but it is also a signal for the city. Politicians recently complained that the passengers would descend on the city like “a plague of locusts”.

Until now, the rules for renting out apartments to holidaymakers have been severely restricted, for example with the Airbnb service. The opening hours of pubs and brothels in the Red Light District have been shortened. Also, smoking weed is no longer allowed in the old center. The capital is also trying to fend off the notorious British party tourists with the ‘Stay Away’ campaign on social media. (meg/sda/dpa)