Amsterdam has told British sex and drugs tourists to stay away from the city as part of a a new advertising campaign.
The Dutch capital will begin a "discouragement campaign" to put off "nuisance" Brits by bringing in a number of new restrictions.
Amsterdam’s cannabis coffee shops are often a major pull factor for some troublesome groups of stag and hen parties, with drunk or stoned groups of young men walking to the famous red light district also causing problems.
Councillors in the Dutch city say the move to discourage Brits from attending would be part of a “targeted, digital discouragement campaign on foreign visitors who only come to Amsterdam for alcohol, drugs and sex”.
The “stay away” campaign will focus on British tourists at first and, if this is successful, will be used to tackle to nuisance-causing groups from other countries, local broadcaster Noord Holland reported.
Sofyan Mbarki, the city’s deputy mayor who is in charge of the tourism measures, said: “The aim of the discouragement campaign is to keep out visitors that we do not want.
"If we love the city, we must take action now. Action is needed to prevent nuisance and overcrowding.
"Amsterdam is a world city and bustle and liveliness come along with this but to keep our city liveable we need to choose limits instead of irresponsible growth.”
Mbarki added: “We want to get rid of commercial parties who earn their money from vulgar touristic entertainment in the already scarce public space in the city centre: entertainment that does not take any account of Amsterdammers who live, live or work in the city."
It comes after Mbarki presented a series of measures to the city’s municipal executive earlier this week, according to the Times.
Measures included a ban on smoking cannabis in city centre streets, reducing numbers of nuisance bachelor parties and pub crawls and limits on the number of river cruises.
In addition, plans to move around 100 brothel windows away from the Wallen district near Amsterdam’s central train station to a new “erotic” centre and hotel were also mooted.
Councillors there are worried that the red light district has become a voyeuristic and offensive tourist attraction, while a move to ban the sale of hashish and marijuana after 4pm from Thursday to Sunday is also being considered.
The plan forms part of a long-term goal of keeping tourism below 10million overnight stays each year, with numbers having nearly doubled from 5.3million in 2010.
Another long-term project involved limiting the number of cheaper hotels and Airbnb holiday rentals, with possible bans on central districts overwhelmed by tourists.
As part of this, “moderate quality” hotels will be encouraged with grants to convert premises into homes or offices.
The council would also negotiate an agreement with the hospitality sector to set a maximum number of beds in the city.
