Amsterdam, the principal tourist destination in The Netherlands, and one of the most popular spots in Europe, has toughened its ban new hotel openings.
In an edict issued April 17, Amsterdam’s city hall stated: “A new hotel in Amsterdam can only be built if another hotel closes, if the number of sleeping places doesn’t increase and if the new hotel will be better, for example more sustainable,” Reuters reports.
Amsterdam Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki said this week that 26 hotels already under development in the city pipeline can open because they have already been approved or because local ordinance and zoning laws allow them to do so. This includes the 134-room Rosewood Amsterdam, which is owned by CTF Amsterdam B.V. It is that company's first hotel in The Netherlands and it is scheduled to open in this year in the city's former Palace of Justice.
In 2017, Amsterdam started limiting new hotel development and pursuing a “step-by-step plan to determine whether any exceptions are possible.” This new ban covers the entire city instead of just certain districts.
At the time of the 2017 regulations, Amsterdam's city government said the hotel development ban would spread tourism more evenly throughout the city.
“Throughout the entire Amsterdam Metropolitan Area, the need to spread tourism more evenly throughout the region has led to the maxim: ‘the right hotel in the right place.’ This means that any new hotels should preferably be built outside Amsterdam’s city boundary, in another part of the AMA. They should also coincide with the development of new recreational facilities, such as museums and theme parks,” according to an Amsterdam city statement published in 2017.
The longstanding restrictions on hotel developments in Amsterdam are well-known, said Asli Kutlucan, CEO of Europe at TFE Hotels. Kutlucan lived in Amsterdam for eight years until January 2024 and previously worked as chief development officer for hotel management firm Cycas Hospitality.
“Especially in central Amsterdam, the vertical expansion is limited due to its historical buildings and layout, which causes shortage on residential and other developments, thus prompting a greater focus on residential solutions for locals,” she said. “The proliferation of Airbnb exacerbated the housing crisis, which prompted regulatory interventions. Beyond mere overcrowding concerns, the initial ban on hotels aimed to address the broader housing issues.”
A Healthy Level of Tourism
Kutlucan said the ban is not about shutting the doors to tourism.
“It’s about redistributing the tourist influx, encouraging visitors to explore beyond the confines of Amsterdam’s city center," she said. "Cities like Den Hague, Rotterdam and Utrecht deserve recognition and promotion as vibrant tourist destinations.”
Kutlucan said she thought the media often sensationalized singular aspects of tourism policy and bans and that there are multifaceted reasons behind Amsterdam’s new and continued hotel regulations.
Her view on the matter is that “it’s not solely about curbing tourism but also about addressing underlying challenges and ensuring equitable distribution of overnight stays across the Netherlands.”
Overtourism has been a concern for residents and city officials in other cities across Europe — notably Barcelona, Dubrovnik and Venice, but including others, too.
The World Travel & Tourism Council is projecting 2024 to be a record-breaking year for tourism’s global economy, amounting to $11.1 trillion. A total of 142 countries are expected to outperform past records.
Amsterdam is also targeting limits on visitors in addition to the hotel construction regulations. The city plans to cap incoming visitors to 20 million per year and another ban prohibits tour groups of more than 15 people, with the exception of school groups led by teachers.
In 2022, the City of Amsterdam published its manifesto on tourism, which contained the following:
“To limit the growth of tourism and prevent nuisance, we will: combat bachelor parties that cause disturbances and organized pub crawls; restrict river cruises; distribute tourism more evenly across the city; convert hotels into homes or offices; introduce earlier closing times for bars and clubs in parts of the city center, and introduce a ban on smoking cannabis on the street in parts of the city center.”
On Jan. 1, Amsterdam raised its tourism tax, known in Dutch as a “toeristenbelasting,” from 7% to 12.5%.
One hope stemming from all the woe of the COVID-19 pandemic was that cities could re-address the balance between tourists and residences, but revenge travel and economic opportunity have resulted in a resurgence of travel demand and concerns of overtourism.