Locals In Amsterdam Protest Overtourism In ‘Unliveable’ City

Recently, residents in Amsterdam took to the streets to protest the unrelenting tourist crowds they claim make the city “unliveable.” Meanwhile, the demonstration was held outside the newly constructed Diamond Hotel, which is already a controversial symbol of the city’s tourism. Like many other popular tourist destinations worldwide, the locals have had enough.

Amsterdam locals protest overtourism in the city

Last Saturday, residents in Amsterdam took to the streets to protest against the increasing crowds of tourists in the city, while claiming this makes the city “unliveable.” Meanwhile, the demonstration was held outside the newly constructed Diamond Hotel which has become a controversial symbol of overtourism in the city.

The new city center hotel is located on the Leidseplein, on the site of the former Heineken Hoek, a popular meeting place and landmark in Amsterdam. According to The Times, the hotel’s design has been declared an eyesore by locals, while its appearance is compared to a motorway lavatory. However, the protest isn’t just about the appearance of the Diamond Hotel but is also about the additional tourist traffic it will attract.

Dingeman Coumou, organizer of the “Het is Genoeg” (It’s enough) campaign, described the building as “another one of those horrible hotels, which attract even more tourists and look awful.” He added, “The Diamond has become a symbolic place for us.”

Popularity as a tourist destination

With its canals, iconic architecture, vibrant culture and history has for a long time struggled to balance its popularity with the residents’ quality of life. Meanwhile, the Independent reported in April that the Dutch capital had submitted a plan to control how tourists enter and stay in the city, by reducing the allowed number of overnight guests to 20 million per year. However, in 2023 the city saw around 22 million overnight tourists, surpassing the proposed limit by a large margin.

Courmou went on to explain:

The tourism that is flooding our city has now become disruptive. It ensures that our children can no longer live in the city because of the high real estate prices, it creates a monoculture but, above all, the center of Amsterdam is becoming unliveable because of the crowds.

Unruly visitors in Amsterdam

Meanwhile,  Amsterdam’s historic old town and red-light district have always been popular for legalized brothels and have been targeted for reforms. Moreover, the famous “coffee shops” draw tourists with easy access to marijuana. Young men, particularly British, are notorious for getting drunk and unruly, crowding the area and disturbing the residents.

“You have to fight your way through the crowds to get home,” said Ed Huijg, one of the protestors who lives in the Wallen red-light district.

Moreover, former city councilor Frits Huffnagel, who is behind the famous “I Amsterdam” slogan for the city that used to be displayed on the Rijksmuseum until 2018, added:

You shouldn’t say: let everyone come and piss and puke in my city. You have to take action against those people.

Responding to the locals’ discontent, officials implemented measures aimed at curbing overtourism and unruly British young men. Among the measures, the city raised tourist taxes and launched the “Stay Away” campaign. Moreover, officials introduced an “Amsterdam Rules” quiz, aimed at deterring rowdy tourists. Moreover, earlier in 2024, the city imposed limits on the number of river cruises allowed in its iconic canals and banned the construction of new hotels.

However, these actions aimed at reducing overtourism and cleaning up the streets, along with an extra €12 million spent to do so in 2024, tourist numbers continue to increase, further upsetting the city’s residents.

One action that tourists could use to reduce the problem is to visit Amsterdam outside of the normal popular times like the summer, and visit in the spring or autumn instead.