LONDON – British? Man? Between 18 and 35 years? No thank you. The city of Amsterdam is launching a publicity campaign against tourists from across the English Channel who are too loud, unruly and overly attracted to alcoholic beverages. Anyone from the United Kingdom – via the internet or agencies – looking for a place to do a bachelorette party, spend an evening with friends or spend a cheap weekend will be reached by the educational films of the municipality of the Dutch capital.
The message is clear. “Stay away,” the ad said. “Amsterdam for a crazy evening + too much alcohol = 140 euros fine + previous convictions”. Misunderstandings are difficult. On the other hand, Amsterdam, where it is legal (with the exception of the red light district) to use marijuana, is by nature an orderly and quiet city where people know how to have fun but also respect the tranquility of residential areas. British tourists, on the other hand, do not enjoy a good reputation, on the contrary, their penchant for alcohol consumption and the neglect of historical monuments are (internationally) notorious.
Rome knows something of where last year a tourist bathed in the Barbaccia in the Piazza di Spagna, which had been vandalized by some English fans some time before. In Mallorca, tourism chief Lucia Escribano recently stressed that the island was not interested in receiving super-cheap tourism from the UK this summer. “You can also go to Greece and Türkiye,” he specified. Same story on Lanzarote and some Greek resorts.
The Dutch city, which is relatively small with around 883,000 inhabitants, is one of the top travel destinations in the world. It welcomes 20 million visitors each year, including a million Brits. Most are well behaved: it is mainly young men who are causing the confusion, and the municipality of Amsterdam admits that it is not just the British who are to blame. In fact, the advertising campaign will soon be extended to other countries and other age groups.