A tax on day trippers, a discount card for residents and a total ban on holiday rentals via agencies such as Airbnb are some of the ideas drawn up by city council marketing agency Amsterdam & Partners to overhaul city tourism.
The recommendations have been drawn up by researchers, residents, local firms and representatives from the cultural sector with the aim of making sure that the days of mass budget tourism are over.
‘Coronavirus has shown us what we are missing through the absence of visitors but also how nice it is to be a customer and visitor in our own city,’ Amsterdam & Partners marketing chief Geerte Udo told the Parool newspaper.
Over the past few years, several residents have become estranged from the city because of the enormous number of tourists, Udo said.
The suggestions now being put forward for further investigation include a tourist tax for day trippers.
The city is already working on plans to redevelop the red-light district, and one option under consideration is moving the window brothels to a purpose built location elsewhere. In addition, holiday rentals in private homes should be banned as soon as possible, the agency report says.
Airbnb is already banned in some busy parts of the city. The agency also suggests focusing more on congress and museum visitors – a wide definition which would also include visits to the Heineken experience centre, the Volkskrant said.
