Amsterdam bans new hotels in bid to control visitor numbers

Amsterdam has long been a popular tourist spot. Photo / Getty Images

It’s no secret Amsterdam is on a mission to keep growing tourist numbers down and stop certain kinds of tourists from visiting.

In 2022, the government launched a campaign asking certain tourists to “stay away”. In 2023, it banned guided tours around the red light district and the use of cannabis in public before closing itself off to cruise ships and increasing its tourist tax to make it the most expensive in Europe.

Now, the local government has announced its latest tactic for controlling mass tourism; banning new hotels.

New hotels cannot be built in the popular city in a bid to control the number of places available to visitors, according to a recent announcement.

The intervention is allowed under the 2021 ordinance called “Amsterdam Tourism in Balance”, which allows the city council to take action when tourism numbers hit 18 million people.

According to city data, the city hit 25.2 million hotel stays in 2019, before the pandemic. In 2023, it rose back up to about 20.7 million stays. This number also does not account for nights tourists spent in short-term rentals, bed and breakfast hotels or cruise ships.

“We want to make and keep the city liveable for residents and visitors. This means: no overtourism, no new hotels, and no more than 20 million hotel overnight stays by tourists per year,” read a statement.

A new hotel can only be built if one closes down, essentially fixing the number of available hotel beds for visitors. Instead, developers have been encouraged to look outside the city centre.

If a new hotel replaces an old one, local council rules state it must maintain the same number of sleeping places and prove it will benefit the city. For example, it is more sustainable than its predecessor.

The new property cannot increase the number of sleeping places and must prove it will be more beneficial to the city - such as being more sustainable.

Hotels that have secured a permit to build, of which there are around 26, will be allowed to progress.

Since banning people from visiting Amsterdam wasn’t feasible, city finance chief Van Buren said they had to explore other ways to manage mass tourism, which doesn’t benefit residents or visitors.

“Over-tourism is a global issue, and tourists themselves are also deterred when destinations become overcrowded. However, we recognise that simply cordoning off Amsterdam is not a viable solution.”