AMSTERDAM: Amsterdam has launched a campaign to discourage tourists planning drug- and alcohol-fuelled parties — starting with young British men.
The Dutch city has long been trying to curb rowdy behaviour such as stag parties, especially near the famed red light area where sex workers operate.
The new “Stay Away” campaign involves “online discouragement”, in the form of special messages delivered when people search online for certain types of getaways in the city.
“The campaign will commence in Great Britain, aimed at males in the age category of 18 to 35 years,” Amsterdam city council said in a statement on Tuesday.
“This online discouragement campaign is aimed at nuisance tourists who want to visit Amsterdam to ‘go wild’, with all the ensuing consequences.”
It would be expanded to “potential nuisance-causing visitors from the Netherlands and other EU countries” in the coming year, it said.
People searching for terms such as “stag party Amsterdam” or “pub crawl Amsterdam” will be shown warning advertisements, it said.
The ads would show the “risks and consequences of anti-social behaviour and excessive drug and alcohol abuse” including fines, arrest, criminal records, hospitalisation and health issues.
Amsterdam recently announced a ban on smoking cannabis in the red light district, coupled with further restrictions on alcohol consumption and earlier closures for cafes, bars and sex clubs.
Authorities are also looking at moving sex workers to large “erotic centres” to the outskirts of the city.