With Amsterdam being the world capital of tourism for marijuana, it isn’t entirely surprising that they’ve been dealing with an overflow of vacationers for a while now.
However, COVID-19 has reduced that influx dramatically, and it seems the locals want to keep it that way. One of their plans is to ban tourists from buying weed at coffee shops in town.
Geerte Udo, director of Amsterdam & Partners, says “The idea is to get away from visitors that have only one focus: coming through the Red Light District, getting stoned or drunk and causing a nuisance. In the last five years we’ve seen the old city-center becoming a monoculture. Residents don’t feel it’s theirs anymore, which isn’t healthy for the visitor economy either.”
As of now, the city has 166 coffee shops that sell marijuana within its perimeters. This plan would reduce that to 68, just enough for local demand.
Though some claim this won’t reduce any demand from outsiders, the goal of this policy would be to keep tourists coming solely for the culture of the city, as opposed to reckless behavior.
Read more at Condé Nast
