Amsterdam to launch ‘erotic centre’ outside the city with new red light district
AMSTERDAM is planning to open an “erotic centre” on its outskirts in a bid to move the red light district away from the city centre.
The Dutch capital is looking to clean up its reputation for when tourists return after the pandemic.
Local authorities are to vote on the new proposal which would see the new district being built outside of its current area of De Wallen.
Councillor Dennis Boutkan, of the PvdA Labour Party, said it would be a “reset of the visitor economy,” according .
He explained: “We are going to do things very differently and this means that window prostitution will be reduced, an erotic centre will be built and there will be investment in a new kind of businessperson.”
Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema also said: “These measures aim to result in a better mixture of functions, better control, a valuable visitor economy and strengthening cultural diversity and the local identity, more diverse range of housing and more residents in the inner city, more accessible public space and more greenery.”
She added: “Amsterdam is an international city and we wish to attract tourists – but for its richness, its beauty and it’s cultural institutions.”
The city has already introduced a number of restrictions at the popular red light district and last year group tours of the area were banned.
Tours of the red light district were only allowed if guides stuck to the new restrictions which kept the windows off their itineraries.
Many have slammed selfie-loving Brits for ruining the district, leading to the ban on group tours.
Some 115 guided tours passed through the district every day during peak season.
Before the lockdown, Amsterdam suffered from over-tourism and huge crowds at the red light district.
However, sex workers in Amsterdam previously revealed what it is like – with many concerned they could lose their livelihoods.
Other measures the city is planning to introduce is banning tourists from cannabis shops, which could be enforced by 2022.
Research revealed that 58 per cent of foreign tourists who visit Amsterdam come mainly to consume the drug.
Cannabis is technically illegal in the Netherlands but possession of fewer than five grams (0.18 ounces) of the drug was decriminalised in 1976 under a “tolerance policy”.
Production of the drug remains banned but coffee shops are permitted to sell it.
Travelling to Amsterdam is currently off the cards due to the UK lockdown.
Not only that, but KLM cancelled all flights between the UK and the Netherlands last week due to the travel ban.
The Eurostar, which also connects the UK and Amsterdam, also faces going bust due to the ongoing pandemic.