ourist hotspots don’t normally try to reduce visitor numbers, but a growing number are now looking to do so. Why? Because of overtourism and the implications it has for preserving historic sites, air pollution and looking after nature.
Amsterdam joins Venice as the latest destination to consider restricting tourist levels through bans of cruise ships in its city centres. While the plan has been approved by the city council, the changes have yet to be enacted. Still, the measure is a sign of how cities are balancing tourism and environmental concerns.
“The polluting cruise is not in line with Amsterdam’s sustainable ambitions,” Ilana Rooderkerk of the D66 party, which introduced a motion to close the city’s central cruise ship terminal, told Bloomberg. “Cruise ships in the city centre also do not fit in with the task of combating mass tourism.’’
Amsterdam has one of Europe’s biggest cruise ports, and the city receives more than 1 million tourists in an average month – exceeding its population of 800,000.
On top of this, one big cruise ship can produce the same levels of nitrogen oxides in one day as 30,000 trucks, according to independent research and consultancy business CE Delft.
