menachem

Yes, it's more or less year-round now. Amsterdam has nearly 1 million inhabitants, but in the center, where the action is, it's about 40000, and close to 20 million visitors, who all converge on the bit with the 40000 residents. I lived in Jordaan in the 1990s, and even then it was bad.

ribeirasacra

Please keep the sheep herded in one field. That way the rest of us can enjoy the bits of the country the sheep cannot reach.

Pegontheroad

It's like Yogi Berra said, "Nobody goes there any more. It's too crowded."

menachem

In Rotterdam it's beginning too. I live in an apartment building right in the centre of town, 200m away from the Markthal and the funky architecture: already there are 4 buy to let AirBnB shortlets in our building. It's very weird encountering people who clearly don't live in the building.

PalenQ

Tourism is a vital part of Amsterdam economy I've read and employs many Amsterdammers - how do you deter tourists without harming these folks?

ribeirasacra

It may be vital but it is far from being the only industry.
https://www.siliconrepublic.com/ente...igital-economy
https://www.amsterdam.nl/en/policy/policy-economy/
This might just blow your statement out of the water in the canals!
https://www.nritmedia.nl/kennisbank/...sme/?topicsid=

PalenQ

Googling 'tourism in Amsterdam' yields so many hits on how Amsterdam is really becoming the Venice of the North and horror stories about how awful it is - I'm a convert but still what can be done - I think folks would like to limit low-class party tourists who apparently are reeking havoc in inner city places -it will be interesting as what they will do if majority of locals think tourism has gone too far and vote folks in who will try to deter it - too bad but probably only upscale tourism will remain.

I truly feel sorry that the Amsterdam I knew several years ago is now ruined by tourism and am sympathetic to locals who want to curb it.

And yes I know that Amsterdam has lots of other economic things going for it - just take trains around the city edges and I always saw so many hi-tech and fancy corporate stuff.

whitehall

All of us also are part of the problem. The whole concept of this forum is to make travel easier, but certainly the result is promotion of travel. This is our little version of Rick Steves, adding to the ruination of places like Cinque Terre. It’s not just cruise ships or airbnb or the hike in Chinese tourists or the growing number of discount airlines. We are all traveling more, and they are just providing the means. There are simply more people with money, all over the world. The problem stretches from US national parks to major European cities. If airbnb hadn’t been created, how would we have handled all the extra people? Built more new, ugly hotels or converted properties with apartments into more hotels? Airbnb has set up a committee working on ways to alleviate some of the problems they (and all of us) have helped to create. One effort is to spread the crowds among less busy areas. The good news is that this might siphon off some of the Rome, Florence, Venice crowd but will boost areas like Puglia; the bad news is that those of us who like that Puglia hasn’t been fully discovered will “lose” another place. Sadly, for the foreseeable future, we all will need to do more “off-season” travel and find less popular places. Fortunately, right now, there are many lesser known places that can be more enjoyable than the more famous cities and sites. I favor some reasonable regulation of airbnbs (not an outright ban) because their 150 million customers and 700,000 hosts suggest they are providing a service people want. And, as a traveler, we love them. Outside of the “hot” tourist destinations, they have less of an impact on rents and communities and provide supplemental income to many families. Cruise ships (and we have cruised many times), however, should be reined in. Yes, 20 million people want to take a cruise each year, but one private company can instantly dump thousands of people into relatively small towns like Venice. Charging higher docking fees in certain areas and reasonable limits on the number of passengers and size of ships is long overdue. But beyond that, things will never the the same.

PalenQ

Wow - what an awesome analysis by whitehall of the over tourism problem and the conundrum of what to do about it!

ribeirasacra

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the next minster for tourism.

PalenQ

Or maybe Minsiter of De-Tourism? Telling folks why they should stay away - deter the cheaper tourists and keep the wealthiest.

Sue81

as Pogo says, "we see the problem, and it is us",. something like that.

PalenQ

Well in this case it is 'we or some see the problem and it is them'- it should be us (locals) but they blame it on the masses coming to their city when they could well deter the mobs thru legal actions.

whitehall

They can somewhat deter the masses through new rules and regulations but the legislators are usually financially supported by those who thrive with all the tourists. Why don't the "locals" rise up, you ask? They spend all their free time traveling.

PalenQ

Good point - I bet Amsterdammers often go to Venice, Florence, and especially South of France, etc.

janisj

>>Why don't the "locals" rise up, you ask?<<

They do and they have in many places . . .

PalenQ

But the tourists' bucks trump those protests - Venice has had many in past by locals being forced by escalating housing prices to flea to Mestre on mainland (also being able to have a car near their residence no doubt played a part) but what has it gotten them - still refusal to limit vehicles, especially tour buses and cruise ships despite pleas to do so - certain places are doomed to become tourist ghettos by the all-mighty tourist bucks or euros or yen or whatever because common folk never have real power. The center of Amsterdamned will become a tourist-dominated area because of influx of huge amounts of money - and the Holland Tourist Board at last notice is still promoting travel to Holland and thus to Amsterdamned. I am sympathetic to menachem and other locals complaints but realistically...will only decrease if world economy goes south.

AJPeabody

menachem

Soon, short haul flights within Europe will be a thing of the past and then super cheap intercontinental flights. The tide is turning.

ribeirasacra

This looks like fun, not!
First one from 2015
This one from a few months ago.