Amsterdam Ad Campaign Tells Drunken British Tourists ‘Stay Away’
While many places are pushing to welcome more travelers following the pandemic, at least one European city is being more selective. Amsterdam has launched a new ad campaign to urge drunken British tourists to “Stay Away.”
Amsterdam launches ‘Stay Away’ campaign targeting drunken British tourists
The city of Amsterdam is known for its “red-light district” and liberal drug laws. Many of the 20 million tourists that head to the Dutch capital each year are drawn by those attractions. However, authorities in the city have had enough of drunken British tourists having a “messy night” in the city, behaving badly and getting arrested.
Residents have had enough and authorities are now cracking down on badly behaved tourists. The “Stay Away” campaign is just one of several initiatives set to clamp down on visitors’ rowdy behavior.
Speaking of the new campaign, Deputy Mayor Sofyan Mbarki said: “Visitors remain welcome, but not if they misbehave and are a nuisance. Then we as a city say: rather not, stay away,” adding:
To keep our city livable, we now opt for limitations instead of irresponsible growth.
About Amsterdam’s ‘Stay Away’ campaign
The capital city of The Netherlands has launched an online advertising campaign, which initially targets British men aged between 18 and 35. Amsterdam has put together a series of short videos depicting drunken incidents in the city. Meanwhile, the half-minute clips are backed by ominous music and police sirens.
The Independent has posted one Stay Away video on YouTube, included below, which starts with the sound of a bottle smashing on the ground. A young male actor, presumably drunk, is seen stumbling around while swearing at the Amsterdam police. Meanwhile, the police immediately cuff the man and viewers can see him in jail, with his head in his hands, contemplating his actions.
A second video can be seen here and depicts a well-dressed, but drug-addled young man, passed out on an Amsterdam park bench. When a Good Samaritan tries to revive him, paramedics rush to the scene. The tourist is then seen to be rushed to the hospital, where concerned doctors huddle around him.
The ads then ask, “Coming to Amsterdam for a messy night + getting trashed = €140 fine + criminal record?”
“Stay away.”
Reportedly, when potential tourists search online with keywords such as “pub crawl Amsterdam,” or “cheap hotel Amsterdam,” the videos will then be shown to them.
American travelers should note that while the “Stay Away” campaign is targeting British tourists, presumably the same welcome would be received by any tourists “enjoying” a “messy night.”
Other ways the city is discouraging ‘messy nights’
Amsterdam is renowned as being a city for drink, drugs and sex tourism. In fact, the city’s Red Light District is famed for its legal brothels. Meanwhile, tourists head there to see the sex workers in window displays. However, the city’s cannabis coffee shops have always been a draw for tourists.
However, residents say intoxicated tourists are making their city and unsafe and uncomfortable place to live. Last year, Amsterdam announced new restrictions, including banning smoking on the city center streets. Moreover, the number of bachelor parties, river cruises and pub crawls are to be limited.
The city’s council is planning to relocate around 100 of the Red Light District windows away from the city center to a purpose built center on the outskirts of town. Back in 2021, the city was hoping to ban the sale of cannabis to tourists.
Meanwhile, it was recently reported that Amsterdam and Barcelona are teaming up to make tourism more sustainable. Eventually, Amsterdam hopes to halve the number of annual visitors to a more sustainable figure of 10 million.