Amsterdam mayor calls for tourism crackdown even if ailing hospitality sector suffers

Fewer customers for restaurants, bars, and hotels in Amsterdam would be regrettable, but the number of visitors who come to Amsterdam each year must be restrained no matter what, said Mayor Femke Halsema during the Conversation with the Mayor program on AT5.

The losses from less tourism would not outweigh the damage mass tourism is inflicting upon the city, the mayor said. She added that the contribution of tourism to prosperity is “overstated,” as this group accounts for only 8 percent of Amsterdam’s wealth.

Amsterdam currently receives 23 million visitors a year. The number is expected to climb to 30 million in the following years if there is no intervention.

Court data shows at least 55 hospitality businesses based in Amsterdam filed for bankruptcy since the start of 2026, and 66 have been reported over the past 12 months. Nationally, about 20 percent of all businesses in the sector said last year that they were having trouble paying their bills, according to Statistics Netherlands.

“The monoculture we increasingly see in the city center will, over time, undermine both the livability and the vitality of the inner city,” the mayor said about the crowds’ impact on the feel of the city. She also mentioned the sheer amount of waste that tourism generates.

Reducing the number of tourists will be difficult, Halsema said. But the intervention is unavoidable. "However much I regret it for the individual entrepreneurs, if you look at the city from a distance, it is inevitable that we try to manage it as effectively as we can.”