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THE CITY of Amersterdam has launched a campaign to prevent tourists from planning drug and alcohol parties. The first target is young British tourists.
The Dutch city has long sought to tackle troublemaking behavior by young tourists, such as partying with alcohol and drugs, especially near ‘red light’ areas, where sex workers operate. A new campaign called ‘Stay Away’ will be aimed at people who are making plans for a vacation in Amsterdam online, and will then get some specific warnings.
“The campaign will start in the UK, aimed at men aged 18-35. This online campaign is aimed at trouble-making tourists who want to visit Amsterdam to ‘behave wildly’, with all the ensuing consequences,” Amsterdam city council officials said in a statement.
People who plan to go to Amsterdam and search the terms “stag party Amsterdam”, “cheap hotel Amsterdam”, or “pub crawl Amsterdam” will see the warning ads later.
One of the warning videos depicts a young man who is drunk and arrested on the street. The video warns of a fine of 140 euros and a criminal record. The video ends with a scene of the man sitting in a jail cell with a sad face.
Another video shows a man drunk and asleep in a chair on the side of the road. Then an ambulance takes him to the hospital. This is a warning about drug use and its adverse effects on health.
Dutch communications expert Lars Duursma says the ‘Stay Away’ campaign gives the impression that Amsterdam is an attractive place for tourists to get drunk and use drugs.
“They seem to be making the city more attractive to party-going tourists, who don’t really want to come, and less attractive to tourists who are supposed to come to see museums and history,” he says.
“I guess this video will be shared with their friends who still don’t know where to go on vacation. It makes Amsterdam even more unattractive and reinforces the impression of a party city.”
He says it can also be challenging for some people: “Try going there and messing up, but don’t get a fine. And 140 euros is the average amount a British tourist spends a night on alcohol and drugs.”
Gaining global attention
The ‘Stay Away’ campaign conducted in the city of Amsterdam has already received attention from various other international media, such as the Guardian, BBC, New York Times, CNN and Washington Post.
“With this media coverage, the goal of the campaign has become even bigger, not just for those who don’t want to come to Amsterdam,” says Lars.
BBC journalist Anna Holligan said on Twitter that a company that organizes travel in the UK for youth parties had seen a 641% increase in bookings to Amsterdam.
Lars said a more effective way might be to make Amsterdam seem like an unattractive city. A better way to deal with the problem might be to talk to tourists who thought Amsterdam offered a party destination, only to be disappointed.
“They come to Amsterdam only to find that alcohol is expensive, bars close early, it’s hard to get into nightclubs, drugs are hard to come by. It has to be portrayed that this city is not a place for partying.”
Lars even offers an alternative campaign called ‘Amsterdam: avoid the disappointment’.
Wanting to give Amsterdam back to the locals
This latest campaign is part of an effort to shed the image of Amsterdam as a “rowdy” place. City officials want to see fewer youth parties, less river trips, and a ban on smoking marijuana in the city center, including the red-light district.
In an interview with the Dutch daily NRC, Mayor Femke Halsema said she wanted to bring Amsterdam back to being enjoyed by locals.
“In cities like Venice and Dubrovnik, the locals have moved away and the city is only visited by tourists. This is why old cities die,” she warns.
Femske also wants to ban tourists from visiting coffee shops that sell cannabis. [Amsterdam] has 170 coffee shops, of which at least 100 target tourists. If they only served locals, there would be no need for so many coffee shops.
But Amsterdam does not want tourists to avoid the city altogether, Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki told Het Parool media. Visitors are welcome, but not if they behave badly or cause trouble. [sources/photo special]
