Amsterdam to halt hotel construction in bid to control tourism

Dutch authorities said they want to control a city that is overrun with tourism, in their eyes. The effort would also control annual hotel stays.

Dutch authorities say the popular city Amsterdam is overrun with tourism. They want to curb it by halting new hotel construction and reducing annual hotel stay numbers there. 

New local council rules in Amsterdam would stop properties from raising the limits on numbers of beds and would only allow new hotels to be built if another property closes, Euronews reported.

Celebrations in the city like the recent one for King's Day can bring is big tourist numbers, but they can also bring in littering, increased pickpocketing, alcohol consumption in the streets and noise, Amsterdam's city council said. 

Efforts to control tourism numbers are meant to make residents of the city more comfortable. 

City authorities have also decided to cut the number of riverboat cruises allowed to enter the capital, from about 2,300 that were docked there in 2023 to about 1,150 by 2028, Euronews reported.