© Martin Dalton/AlamyThe Amsterdam cruise terminal. The council said: ‘Polluting cruise ships are not in line with the sustainable ambitions of our city.’
Amsterdam's city council has decided to close a cruise ship terminal in its centre, in the latest attempt to limit mass tourism in the Dutch capital.
"Polluting cruise ships are not in line with the sustainable ambitions of our city," said a statement from the centre-right party D66, which runs the city with the social democrats PvdA and GroenLinks environmentalists.
The party also said the passage of cruise ships was not compatible with plans for a new bridge between the city's historic southern district and the Noord district, the focus of recent development projects.
Comment: It's likely China could find an engineering solution which would allow for both.
Other recent measures to restore quiet to the city's historic centre have included a ban on smoking cannabis on the streets of the red light district.
Comment: It's notable, and suspect, that whilst Amsterdam seems to be claiming to want to discourage these activities, elsewhere across the developed world countries are moving to decriminalize drug use: Swiss capital votes for legal cocaine, follows government permission for sale of cannabis
And in March, Amsterdam launched a "Stay Away" campaign to discourage tourists planning drug and alcohol-fuelled parties.
The city has long been trying to curb rowdy behaviour such as stag parties, especially near the red light area where sex workers operate.
The campaign, targeting young British men, involved online advertisements warning people searching for getaways to Amsterdam of the "consequences of antisocial behaviour and excessive drug and alcohol abuse".
They include fines, arrest, criminal records, hospitalisation and health issues, the campaigns says.
Comment: The comes on the heels of the global lockdowns that shuttered economies for nearly 2 years, as well as amidst soaring inflation and energy prices, which, altogether is leading to increasing numbers of businesses struggling to stay afloat, with many more going bankrupt. And so, whilst one could understand a desire to clean up the city in one way or another, one also can't help but see how this seems to be yet another attack on local economies, as is happening much more brazenly with the attack on farmers: Irish farmers revolt over gov'ts 'green' plan to cull 195,000 cattle, 'retirement scheme' offered to willing farmers