amsterdam tourism data

Facts and figures

Buildings and streets

Coffeeshops

Red Light District

Places of interest

Entertainment

Most visitors

Update: Wednesday 22 November 2023

• 🏖️ Holiday package deals
• 🛩️ Flight deals
• 🏨 Hotel deals
• ⛴️ Cruise deals
• 📍 Tour deals
• 💷 Deals under £200
• Cheap holidays, weekend breaks, all inclusive and last minute under £300 per person
• Cheap holidays, weekend breaks, all inclusive and last minute under £400 per person
• Cheap holidays, weekend breaks, all inclusive and last minute under £500 per person
• Deals £500-£600
• Deals £600+
• 🇬🇷 Greece deals
• 🇵🇹 Portugal deals
• 🇪🇸 Spain deals
• 🇹🇷 Turkey deals
• 🇬🇧 UK deals
• 🇦🇱 Albania deals
• 🇺🇸 America deals
• 🇭🇷 Croatia deals
• 🇨🇾 Cyprus deals
• 🇦🇪 Dubai deals
• 🇪🇬 Egypt deals
• 🇮🇹 Italy deals
• 🇹🇭 Thailand deals
• 🌏 Asia deals
• 🇪🇺 Other Europe deals
• Holidays in January
• Holidays in February
• Holidays in March
• Holidays in April
• Holidays in May
• Holidays in June
• Holidays in July
• Holidays in August
• Holidays in September
• Holidays in October
• Holidays in November
• Holidays in December
• Holidays from Belfast
• Holidays from Bournemouth
• Holidays from Cardiff
• Holidays from Liverpool
• Holidays from Newcastle
• Holidays from Norwich
• Hotels & Accommodation
• Travel Agencies & Travel Booking Websites
• Car rental & Parking
• Bus, train and transfer
• Experiences & activities
• Entertainment (Books, games, fun etc.)
• Equipment, travel gadgets and other

40+ Amsterdam tourism statistics, numbers and trends

Last Updated November 16, 2022 by Axel Hernborg

Amsterdam is the capital of the Netherlands. It is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Europe. The city has several well-reputed universities, academies, and research institutes, along with more than 40 museums, numerous theatres, and entertainment venues, and all these places make it a perfect destination to visit and live. Amsterdam is also the country’s leading cultural centre. In addition, the city is famous for its many well-preserved historic homes.

Here we will describe some of the t op trends, statistics, and facts about the Amsterdam tourism industry.

Table of contents

• 1 Covid-19 and the tourism industry
• 2 Pre- and Post-pandemic Statistics
• 3 Contribution of tourism in Amsterdam
• 4 Tourism Industry Insight
• 5 Other tourist-related trends and facts
• 6 References

Covid-19 and the tourism industry

Amsterdam’s tourism industry has been hit hard by the pandemic since the beginning in mid-March when the Netherlands went into semi-lockdown to combat the covid-19 pandemic. Tourism vanished from Amsterdam almost overnight. A social and economic crisis has hit the country and its capital hard. But for residents of Amsterdam’s historic city centre, there is a clear silver lining : temporary relief from the burden of over-tourism.

No doubt, the cause of this crisis was very sad, but for residents, it was a blessing in disguise, because the city was facing over tourism before this pandemic. Due to a lack of tourists, many Amsterdammers were reminded of a time when the city, first and foremost, was a place to live, and n ot to consume or play tourist. However, city officials have been using such strategies and policies to create a more sustainable tourism industry since the time after the pandemic.

Pre- and Post-pandemic Statistics

• As early as 2014, Amsterdam stopped promoting itself as a destination in new markets overseas.
• Instead, the city’s marketing organization worked to guide and manage all of the visitors who showed up in the city.
• Before the pandemic , the council adopted a string of tough measures to get a handle on tourism problems including a ban on guided tours of the Red Light District ; a ban on new hotels in the city centre ; an increase in the tourist tax ; and a ban on new shops that cater to tourists.
• Tourist tax was raised to €3 ( US $ 3,38 ) per person per night , in addition to a 7% hotel tax per room, and tours of the red-light district were banned.
• New shops catering solely to international visitors, such as those selling wooden tulips and vacuum-packed cheeses were also forbidden.
• Businesses in the red-light district have reported revenue losses of up to 90%.
• Hotel occupancy rates decreased from 81% in March 2019, to 41.2% in March 2020 .
• In 2019, a record-breaking 21.7 million people visited Amsterdam , a city with a population of about 870,000.
• To revitalize neighbourhoods dominated by cut-price tourism, the council was pushing ahead with a ban on holiday rentals in three areas, including the red-light district, starting from July 1st, 2020.
• City officials are trying to create a more sustainable tourism industry that doesn’t harm the liveability of the city, and that takes into account the needs of residents and locals.
• Sustainability plans include creating environmentally friendly mobility solutions, establishing an effective waste-management plan, establishing a crowd management system to control busy places, etc.
• Amsterdam&Partners created local deals to encourage residents to explore their city safely, which helped support the reopening of businesses and the cultural sector.
• Nationally, the Dutch tourism board NBTC is focusing on encouraging tourists to visit lesser-known, but equally beautiful, parts of the Netherlands, an aim that was outlined in its Perspective 2030 report in 2018.
• Part of the agenda is also to inspire Dutch people to travel domestically which forms part of NBTC’s plan to stimulate an industry revival and salvage the summer holidays.

Contribution of tourism in Amsterdam

• According to a study by SEO Economic Bureau, tourism in Amsterdam is growing faster and it contributes 2.7 billion euros to the prosperity of the Dutch capital,
• Amsterdam receives about 18 million visitors per year .
• On average each visitor spends 242 euros per visit , that’s a total of about 6.3 billion euros.
• After costs are deducted, an amount of 2.7 billion euros is left that contributes to the prosperity of the city.
• This money goes into the wallets of retailers, tourism companies, and their employees – who in turn use money in other stores, cafes and restaurants, keeping the money moving through Amsterdam.
• Tourism accounts for around 4.5% of the Amsterdam economy .
• Since 2007, jobs in Amsterdam’s tourism sector increased by around 33% to 61,000 around 11% of the total jobs in the city .
• 75% of these jobs are for 12 hours per week or more.
• As of 2018, there were  69,195 jobs in the tourism industry in Amsterdam.
• This is an increase from the 65,609 jobs reached in 2017 and the highest number reached since 2010.
• In 2019, the Amsterdam tourism sector accounted for 69,424 job s.
• In Amsterdam, 1 out of 9 jobs in Amsterdam is in the tourism sector .
• Almost four out of ten tourists that travelled to the Netherlands in 2017 visited Amsterdam.

Tourism Industry Insight

• Amsterdam has joined more than 20 other European cities to advocate stricter rules on vacation-rental platforms at the European Commission and in the European Parliament.
• Amsterdam is investing thousands of euros in attracting tourists but “the right kind of tourists”.
• In the first campaign for 2021, the city has allocated a €100,000 fund to attract tourists interested in visiting the city by advertising the city’s street art ; the over-100-meters A’DAM Tower’s hydraulic swing which is the highest swing in Europe and the city encourages tourists to fish for plastic to clean up canals.
• City councillors have welcomed the goal of establishing respectful tourism in Amsterdam while increasing policing and on-the-spot fines for inappropriate behaviour.
• According to Dennis Boutkan, the PvdA Labour party councillor, this goal aligns with the city’s vision that “visitors are welcome but not at any price”.

Other tourist-related trends and facts

• Cannabis joints may be legal in Amsterdam, but smoking tobacco has been banned in cafes and restaurants since 2008.
• People are also prohibited from smoking in all trains, stations, and waiting areas. If anyone is caught by authorities, he/she is expected to pay a fine of €25 or more.
• There are more than 2,500 houseboats in Amsterdam, many of which visitors can stay in instead of a typical hotel.
• The Rijksmuseum holds more than 8,000 art and historical objects on display. Yearly, 2+ million people explore it, making it the Netherlands’ most visited museum.
• The Amsterdam Flower Market ( Bloemenmarkt ) is the only floating flower market in the world, and visitors can explore the most fragrant and vibrant place in the Dutch capital Monday through Saturday.
• Albert Cuypmarkt is the largest outdoor market in Europe where visitors can find anything from exotic fruits, flowers, and fish to books, leather goods, and clothing.
• Amsterdam is the only city in the world with a medieval centre that is a Red Light District.
• One of the most popular things to do in Amsterdam is to go on a canal cruise. More than 3 million passengers cruise the waters each year.
• Amsterdam also has more bridges than Venice. There are only around 400 bridges in Venice, but Amsterdam has 1281 bridges.
• Another unique attraction on the Amsterdam waterways is a catboat, De Poezenboot – La Barca dei Gatti. This is an animal shelter and a gift shop where visitors can adopt a cat.
• Amsterdam is rated as the second most bike-friendly city in the world. Copenhagen, Denmark is the first.
• Visitors who are looking for a coffee and pastry should visit a koffiehuis, not a coffee shop. In Amsterdam, a coffee shop for cannabis, while a koffiehuis is to go for a morning dose of caffeine.
• It is illegal to enter a coffee shop in Amsterdam for youngsters under 18 years of age.
• The Netherlands is known for its many varieties of delicious cheese. Famous cheeses originating in the Netherlands include Old Amsterdam, Edam and Gouda.
• “ Amsterdam Holland Pass ” is a pre-paid city pass and discount card allowing free access to many top museums, attractions, activities and city sightseeing in Amsterdam and other major cities in the Netherlands.
• The “ I Amsterdam City Card ” is the “ official ” city pre-paid pass and discount card allowing free access to many top museums. Furthermore, it gives discounts on attractions and activities in Amsterdam.
• A separate free public transport ticket is included to use the public transport system in Amsterdam.
• Combination Deal is a unique way to save money on many top museums and attractions in Amsterdam and even more throughout the Netherlands. So the more tickets visitors combine, the more money they can save.
• The ‘Museumkaart’ is a personal museum pass, valid for one year for Dutch residents in more than 350 museums in the Netherlands but now for tourists, the temporary Museumcard is only admissible with 5 museum visits for a maximum of 31 days.
• Visitors can enjoy a live virtual webcam tour around Amsterdam by viewing top-rated streaming live Amsterdam webcams.

https://www.planetware.com/tourist-attractions-/amsterdam-nl-nh-amst.htm

https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus-a-fresh-start-for-amsterdam-tourism/a-53855534

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/31/travel/amsterdam-tourism-post-pandemic.html

https://nltimes.nl/2017/10/20/tourism-brings-eu27-billion-amsterdam

https://www.statista.com/statistics/954542/employment-in-the-tourism-industry-in-amsterdam-the-netherlands/

https://toursinamsterdam.com/tourism-in-the-netherlands/

https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/amsterdam-to-launch-campaign-for-respectful-tourism/

https://www.hotels.com/go/netherlands/things-to-know-amsterdam

https://www.jonesaroundtheworld.com/facts-about-amsterdam/

https://www.funfactsabout.com/fun-facts-about-amsterdam/

https://www.amsterdamtourist.info/tips/amsterdamdiscount-cards/

https://www.amsterdamtourist.info/amsterdam-webcam-directory/

Hello! I am Axel, tripplo.com’s travel savings, deals and discounts expert and founder. I have been in the travel deals and discounts industry for almost a decade now. It’s me who publish and update most of the content and discounts on tripplo.com! I also have a podcast in which I share valuable information about how to get the best travel deals and discounts.

No Comments

Leave comment, or cancel reply.

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Login To Your Account

Register your account, recover your account.

No spam. We promise.

Amsterdam Travel & Tourism Economic Impact Factsheet

Discover the total economic contribution that the Travel & Tourism sector brings to Amsterdam and the world in this data-rich, two-page factsheet.

Discover the total economic contribution that the Travel & Tourism sector brings to the Amsterdam’s economies and to the world in this data-rich, two-page factsheet.

Create an account for free or login to download

Factsheet details

This factsheet highlights the importance of Travel & Tourism to Amsterdam across many metrics, and features details such as:

• Contribution of the sector to overall GDP and employment
• Comparisons between 2019 and 2023
• Forecasts for 2024 and 2034
• International and domestic visitor spending
• Proportion of leisure vs business spending
• Top 5 inbound and outbound markets

This factsheet highlights the importance of Travel & Tourism to the Amsterdam across many metrics, and features details such as:

• Contribution of the sector to overall GDP and employment in the group and globally
• Contribution of the sector to overall GDP and employment in the region and globally

This factsheet highlights the importance of T&T to this city across many metrics, and features details such as:

• Contribution of the sector to overall GDP and employment in the city
• Comparisons between 2019, 2020 and 2021, plus 2022 forecast
• Proportion of the T&T at city level towards overall T&T contribution at a country level
• Top 5 inbound source markets

Report sponsors

Research support partners.

Other factsheets you may like

Lebanon Fact Sheet

Vietnam fact sheet, belgium fact sheet.

It’s not just those who live in Amsterdam – tourists hate crowds too

After a brief period of calm during the pandemic, Amsterdam will most likely host more than 20 million visitors in 2023, according to the city’s Research and Statistics unit. Post-pandemic tourist numbers in the Netherlands steadily rose last year. More than 14.6 million visitors stayed in hotels and other short-term accommodations in the third quarter of 2022, a full 15% more than the year before, according to data published by Statistics Netherlands. Around 5.4 million of those vacationers came from abroad. Amsterdam, as usual, was the most popular destination in the Netherlands for foreign tourists. But many Amsterdammers are less than enthusiastic about the return of mass tourism, which has long been a major concern for residents and businesses. Noise, crowds and rowdy behaviour are some of the most common complaints. But it’s not just Amsterdam’s denizens who’ve had enough of the crowds – it turns out tourists could do without them as well.

A recent study by researchers at the Experience Lab of Breda University of Applied Sciences, Tilburg University, and KU Leuven used virtual reality (VR) technology to evaluate tourist responses to crowds and crowded locations. Several Amsterdam hotspots were included, including Kalverstraat, Prinsengracht and Dam Square. Participants’ emotional reactions were measured while they viewed images depicting these popular locations with different crowd densities.

It turns out that tourists really don’t like crowded places. Many participants were particularly sensitive to the feeling of being surrounded by masses of people; the sensation triggered flight-like brain responses in some subjects. Around 84% of participants would be willing to pay entrance fees up to €5 to enjoy less crowded attractions. The study also found that tourists are willing to change plans and adjust their schedules if provided with real-time information about crowd levels.

Overtourism has long been an issue for those who live and work in Amsterdam. The rise of short-term and party tourism has fundamentally altered the character of many of the city’s historic neighborhoods. Noise and rowdy behaviour from bachelor parties and pub crawls are common irritants, particularly in De Wallen, the city’s famous Red Light District. City council members regularly field complaints about rowdy tourists from constituents.

Amsterdam already has regulations in place to address tourism-related overcrowding. The city’s Tourism in Balance ordinance, adopted in 2021, establishes a limit of between 10 and 20 million overnight tourist visits per year and requires the city to take action if it appears that number will be exceeded. However, that’s not enough to keep Amsterdam a nice place for residents and visitors.

Sofyan Mbarki, Amsterdam’s Deputy Mayor of Economic and Inner City Affairs, introduced a comprehensive program to address several overtourism-related issues raised by constituents, stating it “has become clear that everyone cares about the city and that intervention is needed to counter the nuisance and overcrowding”. Mbarki’s plan calls for restrictions on organized pub crawls and bachelor parties, as well as limits on the number of canal cruise docking points in the Red Light District. Earlier closing hours for bars and clubs in the area have been proposed.

Written by Lorre Luther

A ban on smoking marijuana in public spaces is under consideration. Furthermore, the plan calls for transforming some hotels into offices and living spaces. Mbarki also hopes to encourage some tourist attractions to relocate to areas outside of the city centre, such as Amsterdam North and Zuidas. The program includes plans for a public service campaign to educate tourists about behavioural expectations, which is expected to be rolled out in the spring of 2023.

The proposals are part of Mbarki’s Visitor’s Economy 2035 program designed to manage economic growth while responding to the tourism-related concerns of those who live and work in the city. “If we want effective and forward-looking cooperation, both a long-term vision and appropriate measures are needed. Amsterdam is a metropolis and that means a lively and bustling city, but to keep our city livable, we now have to opt for limits instead of irresponsible growth,” explains Mbarki. Debate on the measures is continuing in the municipal council.

Tourism in the Netherlands

Development of the tourism sector in the netherlands from 1995 to 2021.

Windmills, canals and bicycles

Revenues from tourism.

All data for the Netherlands in detail

• Share full article

Advertisement

Supported by

Amsterdam’s Latest Effort to Fight Excessive Tourism: No New Hotels

The city wants no more than 20 million hotel stays annually. The measure is one of multiple efforts to control the flow of visitors.

By Claire Moses

Amsterdam has been searching for any way to rein in the number of tourists that visit the city every year.

In March of last year, the city launched an ad campaign specifically targeted at British men between 18 and 35, urging them to “stay away.”

In July, the Dutch capital announced it would bar cruise ships from docking in the city center .

The city has also long tried to control the crowds in its red-light district, where rowdy groups of tourists often cause disruptions to local residents. It has added stricter rules about smoking marijuana . It has banned new tourist shops. And still, the people keep coming.

Now, the city — which is as well known for its canals and 17th century art as for its legal sex industry and easy access to marijuana — has taken one more step to further restrict the explosive growth of tourists: It is banning hotels from being built.

“Amsterdam is saying ‘no’ to new hotels,” the City Council said in a statement. “We want to make and keep the city livable for residents and visitors,” it added.

Amsterdam, which added that it was seeking to keep hotel stays by tourists to under 20 million per year, saw its highest number of visitors before the pandemic in 2019, when there were 25.2 million hotel stays, according to the city’s data.

Last year, that number was exceeded by tourists staying over in Amsterdam, not including stays in short-term rentals like Airbnbs and cruise ships. And the measure also does not take into account daily visitors who do not stay the night.

The ban on new hotels, while sending a clear message about the city’s aim to reduce the number of visitors, is also largely symbolic. The city’s policy on hotel construction was already strict, and there had been only three proposals since 2017 that met Amsterdam’s requirements, according to the city. New hotels that had been approved or were in development — 26 in total — would be allowed to proceed for now.

Under the new rules, a new hotel can only open if another one closes. It also isn’t allowed to add more rooms than were available, according to the city.

“The effect won’t be very big,” said Ko Koens, a professor of new urban tourism at Inholland University in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. He also said that in the long run, the capping of hotels could make them more expensive to stay at.

While this ban alone would not make a huge dent in the number of visitors to the city, Mr. Koens said, taken together with other initiatives it could make Amsterdam a less appealing place to visit. But, he said, “For now, visitors don’t seem to mind.”

In total, Amsterdam has nearly 42,000 hotel rooms that can accommodate more than 92,000 people, according to Statistics Netherlands, a governmental institution that compiles data about the country. (In total, the Netherlands has more than 150,000 hotel rooms.)

Amsterdam’s initiatives to rein in tourism have been largely focused on its crowded city center. But as long as Amsterdam’s airport, Schiphol, continues to be a major European hub, it won’t be easy to keep visitors away from the city.

“There are no simple solutions,” Mr. Koens said. “It’s super complex.”

Amsterdam also announced this week it would start cutting the number of river cruises allowed to dock in its waters. In 2023, that number was 2,125. In 2028, the city wants it to be halved, with no more than 1,150. The city predicts that effort could reduce the number of visitors that come into town by 271,000. This proposal, the city said, is to improve the quality of life for residents and to reduce emissions and crowds.

“The balance in the city needs to improve,” Hester van Buren, a deputy mayor who focuses on the city’s port, said in a statement.

Amsterdam isn’t the only major European destination that has been struggling to get a grip on the growing number of tourists. Venice announced it would charge day-tripping visitors 5 euros ($5.33) to enter the iconic streets of its city center on weekends and some holidays from April 25 through mid-July, its busiest season.

Amsterdam, currently in a busy touristic time because of its famous blooming tulips, has not announced a similar measure, but it is likely there will be more efforts and experiments designed to limit visitors — like the hotel ban.

“Without such a stop, Amsterdam’s center would become one big hotel,” Mr. Koens said. “You don’t want that either.”

Claire Moses is a Times reporter in London, focused on coverage of breaking and trending news. More about Claire Moses

Around the World With The Times

Our reporters across the globe take you into the field..

Living in China’s Military Shadow: More than 200 Filipino civilian settlers on a contested island in the South China Sea find themselves on the frontier of a possible conflict with China .

Waving the Kenyan Flag: Kenya has strict legal limits on the use of its national flag. But as antigovernment protests have roiled the East African nation, protesters are displaying it as a symbol of resistance .

Has Power Moderated Meloni?: Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, has mostly shown a pragmatic streak abroad. But at home, her conservative government is plunging many gay families into panic .

A Canadian Chemist Shines on YouTube: Disillusioned with grad school, Nigel Braun dropped out to film chemistry videos in his parents’ garage in Montreal. Then millions began watching his whimsical experiments .

A Villa Tainted by Nazism: The former estate of Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi propaganda minister, is falling apart. No one knows quite what to do with it .

International tourism, number of arrivals - Netherlands

Selected Countries and Economies

All countries and economies.

• Privacy Notice
• Access to Information

This site uses cookies to optimize functionality and give you the best possible experience. If you continue to navigate this website beyond this page, cookies will be placed on your browser. To learn more about cookies, click here.

Travel Industry News by ITB : Daily Travel & Tourism News

Primary Navigation

— Registration Number: SIRET 413 604 471 — Professional Bodies: SYNTHEC — Company’s Director: Jean-françois PIERI CLEVERDIS — RCS Number: 413604471 SALON-DE-PROVENCE — Legal Form: CLEVERDIS SAS — VAT Number: TVA FR95413604471

Amsterdam sets up an urban tourism policy based on quality in 2023

Amsterdam is one of europe’s most popular cities. however in recent years, both the population and the city administration have felt uncomfortable with some tourists’ behaviour. city authorities consequently decided to restrict some undesired visitors’ activities while boosting at the same time its cultural offers. amsterdam’s regulation towards a better control of tourism activities could become a model for other cities….

Amsterdam needs to find a balance between its residents and visitors. The Dutch metropolis has been suffering increasingly of over-tourism in the last decade. In 2019, Amsterdam welcomed over 22 million visitors while its total population reaches approximately 900,000 inhabitants. In 2023, Amsterdam expects to see 18 million travellers . It could actually be more but this number is now the upper limit that Amsterdam authorities fixed back in an ordinance in June 2021. It sets a cap on the number of tourist stays and day visits in the city.The plan is called “Tourism in Balance in Amsterdam”.

Amsterdam wants to boost its appeal towards tourists with r a good motivation. In an interview in July 2022 with Bloomberg CityLab, Amsterdam mayor Femke Halsema, told that “we love tourists in our city. They are an important part of our local economy. Especially when tourists come for the beauty of our city, for our museums or for our night culture. But we do have a problem with […] the behaviour of a minority of tourists. What we do not welcome is people who come here on a vacation from morals. They express a form of behaviour they would not express at home. People coming here to lose their morals is a problem for us […] We should correct the way we advertised the city in the last 15 years,” she explained.

“Tourism in balance” to discourage undesirable foreign travellers

With the plan, efforts have been done to clean up Amsterdam centre from unwanted developments to foster a better balance between the quality of life for residents and hospitality for visitors. Already in the last few years, important improvements have taken place. These include: a new policy for ‘shop diversity’ (a ban on new tourist shops), a ban on holiday rentals in 3 neighbourhoods in the city centre, and a new restrictive policy to minimise the number of new hotels. In addition, large tour groups are no longer allowed, the Water and boating policy is dealing with nuisances related to the waterways, and an investigation has taken place into the tourism carrying capacity of the city’s various neighbourhoods and districts.

Amsterdam’s administration is now going a step further. A campaign called “Stay Away” this spring is being launched to discourage tourists who come to “go wild”as a main motivation to visit Amsterdam. This includes activities related to alcohol, drugs and sex. The city council wants to tackle nuisance during bachelor parties and organised pub crawls, limit the number of river cruises, bring forward closing times of pubs and window prostitution in the Red Light District and introduce a ban on illicit products and alcohol consumption in many areas of the city centre.

Amsterdam for culture lovers and tourists looking for an authentic experience

Other measures foresee to spread tourist flows by developing leisure facilities in North, Southeast, New West and relocating leisure facilities from the city centre. A focus on transforming some hotels to residential units or office offices. The city administration succeeded already by banning most Airbnb-style supply in town. Total units diminished from roughly 30,000 to 5,000 units. Renting an apartment for tourism purposes is also limited to only 30 days per year.

Visitors are and will remain welcome in Amsterdam, but this should no longer be at the expense of the city’s livability. Said Amsterdam Mayor Femke Haselma in Bloomberg Citylab interview: “Amsterdam is a place where you should go if you are looking for beautiful museums, or to see the underground culture, or if you want to attend our Pride . We don’t want our traditional liberalism to be replaced by conservatism. That is not what we are aiming for.”

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You Might Also Like:

Amsterdam’s beurs van berlage becomes 1st convention centre in the netherlands to receive prestigious green globe certificate, how amsterdam’s mayor plans to redefine tourism in the city, eurostar and thalys to join forces connecting five countries across europe,   industry news.

Drag to scroll

• +33 (0)4 42 77 46 00
• [email protected]

Legal Notices

• Cookie Policy (EU)
• Data Protection

Amsterdam and Copenhagen are experimenting with hiding their cultural landmarks from tourists

If you recently visited Barcelona, Mallorca or  Venice , you’re a bad tourist who should have stayed home. At least that’s what the anti-tourism protests this summer in certain parts of Europe would have you believe.

Already this year, 142 countries are projected to exceed their pre-pandemic tourism performance,  according to the World Travel & Tourism Council . (That’s out of a total of 185 countries that the organization tracks.) In the next decade,  tourism is predicted to grow into a $16 trillion industry  that will generate 12.2% of global jobs. But the crowds and rising costs that come with it have locals in many cities feeling weary. 

“It’s not that tourism used to be a force for good and now has become a force for evil,” explains Ondrej Mitas, a senior lecturer at  Breda University of Applied Sciences  in the Netherlands. Mitas, who specializes in overtourism, says news coverage often describes the phenomenon as a single, unmanageable issue. If you tease it apart into smaller component parts, he argues, it’s easier to find solutions.  

In his mind, overtourism is actually four separate problems. There’s the classic overcrowding of popular sites. Visitors disrespecting cultural norms—say, swinging selfie sticks or baring their shoulders in an Orthodox church—is another. Then you have the partiers who get indecent or destroy public property. Last is the most insidious prong of overtourism: when locals do not sufficiently benefit from tourism in their communities, due to unequal distribution of profits. That’s what most often leads to resident-level resistance,  as seen in Spain this summer . “That’s a political problem,” says Mitas. “It’s much more difficult to solve.”

There’s reason for Mitas—and the rest of us travelers—to be optimistic.

Solutions for each of these   issues are being tested in different destinations around the world, from Copenhagen to Thailand to Hawaii. Here are three such trailblazing initiatives, some new, some years in the making. Though they’re still relatively small, each has the potential to scale around the world—and impact an ever-growing share of travelers. 

Redefining a Destination’s “Must-Sees”  

In a 2021 experiment run by Mitas and his team at Breda University,   155 visitors to the Dutch province of Overijssel were given one of two digital planning tools to inspire their trips. One group was given an app with the traditional sights marked out, and another was set up with an AI concierge called  Travel With Zoey , which recommended the least visited tourist attractions as must-sees, verified by a behind-the-scenes employee. 

Travelers from both groups took the recommendations to heart, going to the places they were shown or told about, rather than forging their own paths. In surveys afterward, they showed equal satisfaction with their vacations. “People had an equally good time whether they went to the hot spots or not, and that is pretty important,” says Mitas.

The reality is that most destinations have lesser-visited points of interest that are ready and worthy of receiving more tourists. But as long as most travelers use the same sources to find inspiration—say,  Alphabet Inc.’s  Google Maps or TripAdvisor—they will be steered toward the same spots. 

Of course, nothing prevents travelers from Googling their trips. But the study may convince tourist boards and travel agents that there’s good reason to stray from mainstream recommendations. “Whatever source reaches people with the least friction and makes the experience sound the most fun wins,” Mitas says.      

Mitas and the Zoey team are now working with Amsterdam’s and Copenhagen’s tourism boards to re-create the experiment in overcrowded city centers. “We’re expecting that the outcomes will be relatively the same as in Overijssel,” says Rajneesh Badal, Zoey’s chief executive officer. If so, he says, “the next step for us will be to make this part of the toolkit for policymakers and destination management organizations.” 

Spreading Tourism Revenue

For the past seven years, nonprofit organization Tourism Cares has been building a “ meaningful tourism map ,” filled with vetted providers of sustainable experiences around the world—think a weaving workshop with a women’s group in rural Jordan, birding with local conservationists in Colombia’s Otún Quimbaya Sanctuary or a woman-led history tour of Ponce, Puerto Rico.

So far, the map includes 321 impact partners in 22 countries   around the world, though it’s primarily meant as a business-to-business tool for tour operators and travel agents who can create entire trips around the experiences and deliver a larger scale of bookings. To build its map, the organization is partnering directly with tourism boards, like those from Colombia and Thailand, which must each identify at least 10 responsible tourism enterprises that are ready to receive an influx of visitors. 

The idea started in Jordan, which wanted to see tourism spread beyond Petra, its famed Unesco World Heritage Site; since then, companies such as  Insight Vacations ,  Intrepid Travel  and  G Adventures  have bolstered their itineraries with   ceramics, cooking and weaving workshops—all driving business to rural co-ops in small communities such as Bani Hamida, 90 minutes south of Amman. 

Among the project’s challenges is the fact that tourism boards aren’t always savvy about identifying local impact partners. But Tourism Cares CEO Greg Takehara says he’s seeing momentum, with a record number of destinations including Panama, Scotland, Ireland, Hawaii and San Luis Obispo adding some 200 impact partners in 2024.

Creating Behavioral Incentives

What does it take to get tourists to make sustainable choices? Copenhagen’s tourism board thinks fun freebies may do the trick. In July it started rewarding visitors for taking simple, climate-friendly actions through  an innovative, monthlong pilot program  in partnership with 20 local sites. Choosing to bike or take public transportation to a particular point of interest, for example, would get you a free museum tour, kayak rental or locally sourced veggie lunch. Anyone who brings plastic waste to the National Gallery of Denmark can join a complimentary workshop on upcycling it into an art piece. The pilot ended on August 11, and Visit Denmark expects to publish results later in the month.  

In Hawaii, a similar campaign called Malama Hawaii has been encouraging visitors to engage with volunteer activities across the island since 2020. In the first quarter of 2024, the Hawaii Tourism Authority says nearly  20% of all visitors  statewide participated in these activities,  up from 16% in the first quarter of 2023 .

The activities include everything from shore cleanups to propagating native plants and feeding animals on a farm sanctuary; since April they’ve been centralized on an  online dashboard  for easier access. Like Copenhagen, Hawaii is rewarding visitors for participation, offering discounts or free nights at participating hotels for taking part  in select activities . Joining a beach cleanup with the Hawaii Land Trust, for example, can get you a free sixth night’s stay at the Grand Wailea on Maui, a Waldorf Astoria resort.

The trend continues to catch on. Take the latest example, in  Vancouver Island . Pick up trash along the destination’s pearlescent beaches or Douglas fir-filled forests and bring it back to a designated collection point, and you’ll earn rewards that range from hotel discounts to a free pint of beer. It’s a small step in the right direction for an industry that is often slow to change. 

Latest in Finance

Dortmund reports highest revenue in club history—just a few months after the sale of English midfielder Jude Bellingham

How Zurich, one of Europe’s largest insurers, is making Gen Z a priority with TikTok and Instagram

American Express is using Olivia Rodrigo concerts and F1 to attract Gen Z in its long-neglected European market

Klarna rolls out bank accounts in Europe and the U.S. as the Swedish unicorn plots a $20 billion IPO

Every Norwegian now indirectly owns $27 worth of Bitcoin as sovereign wealth fund ups crypto stake

Norway’s $1.7 trillion wealth fund made billions from tech in 2024—now it’s slashing its stake in Meta, Novo Nordisk and ASML

Most popular.

Gen Z are ‘raw dogging’ flights for TikTok—but experts say it can cause thrombosis

Bill Gates ‘terrified’ employees at his foundation, book claims, where meetings felt like a king holding court

More young men are becoming NEETs than women—not in employment, education, or training

Jerome Powell met Jamie Dimon and other bank CEOs behind closed doors to avoid legal fight

Elon Musk’s financial woes at X have Tesla bulls fearing he will liquidate more stock

Deadly bacteria now have perfect conditions for outbreaks at U.S. lakes and rivers

Travel, Tourism & Hospitality

Travel and tourism's contribution to GDP in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2019-2022

Direct contribution of travel and tourism to gdp in amsterdam, the netherlands from 2019 to 2021, with a forecast to 2022 (in billion euros).

Additional Information

Show sources information Show publisher information Use Ask Statista Research Service

Netherlands

2019 to 2021

figures are in constant 2021 prices and exchange rates as of November 2022

Other statistics on the topic Tourism in Amsterdam

Leisure Travel

• Leading European city tourism destinations 2019-2023, by number of bed nights
• Number of inbound tourist arrivals in the Netherlands 2012-2023
• Number of inbound tourist arrivals in selected European destinations 2019-2023
• Number of passengers utilizing Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 2010-2023
• Immediate access to statistics, forecasts & reports
• Usage and publication rights
• Download in various formats

* For commercial use only

Basic Account

• Free Statistics

Starter Account

• Premium Statistics

Professional Account

• Free + Premium Statistics
• Market Insights

1 All prices do not include sales tax. The account requires an annual contract and will renew after one year to the regular list price.

Statistics on " Tourism in Amsterdam "

• Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in the Netherlands 2019-2034
• International tourism receipts in the Netherlands 2010-2023
• Travel and tourism's contribution to GDP in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2019-2022
• Municipalities with the highest tourist tax revenue in the Netherlands 2023
• Contribution of leading destinations to inbound tourism in European countries 2023
• International hotel guests in the Netherlands 2019-2023, by city
• Hotel overnight stays by international tourists in the Netherlands 2019-2023, by city
• Leading travel markets in Amsterdam 2019-2023, by number of hotel arrivals
• Leading travel markets in Amsterdam 2019-2023, by number of hotel overnight stays
• Domestic hotel guests in the Netherlands 2019-2023, by city
• Hotel overnight stays by domestic tourists in the Netherlands 2019-2023, by city
• Monthly domestic tourist arrivals in hotels in Amsterdam 2019-2024
• Monthly domestic tourist overnight stays in hotels in Amsterdam 2019-2024
• Tourist accommodation establishments in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2012-2023
• Number of accommodation services in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2023, by type
• Number of hotels in Amsterdam 2012-2023
• Number of hotel rooms in Amsterdam 2012-2023
• Average cost of overnight accommodation in Amsterdam 2019-2023, by month
• Number of Airbnb listings in Amsterdam 2024, by room type
• Number of Airbnb listings in Amsterdam 2023, by district
• Attendance at selected music festivals in Europe 2023
• Attendance at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam 2014-2023
• Attendance at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam 2014-2023
• Attendance at Artis Amsterdam Royal Zoo in the Netherlands 2014-2023
• Attendance at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam 2014-2023
• Attendance at the NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam 2014-2023
• Attendance at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in the Netherlands 2014-2023

Other statistics that may interest you Tourism in Amsterdam

• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's total contribution to GDP in the Netherlands 2019-2034
• Basic Statistic Number of inbound tourist arrivals in the Netherlands 2012-2023
• Premium Statistic International tourism receipts in the Netherlands 2010-2023
• Basic Statistic Travel and tourism's contribution to GDP in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2019-2022
• Basic Statistic Number of passengers utilizing Amsterdam Airport Schiphol 2010-2023
• Basic Statistic Leading European city tourism destinations 2019-2023, by number of bed nights
• Basic Statistic Municipalities with the highest tourist tax revenue in the Netherlands 2023

Inbound tourism

• Premium Statistic Number of inbound tourist arrivals in selected European destinations 2019-2023
• Premium Statistic Contribution of leading destinations to inbound tourism in European countries 2023
• Basic Statistic International hotel guests in the Netherlands 2019-2023, by city
• Basic Statistic Hotel overnight stays by international tourists in the Netherlands 2019-2023, by city
• Premium Statistic Leading travel markets in Amsterdam 2019-2023, by number of hotel arrivals
• Premium Statistic Leading travel markets in Amsterdam 2019-2023, by number of hotel overnight stays

Domestic tourism

• Basic Statistic Domestic hotel guests in the Netherlands 2019-2023, by city
• Basic Statistic Hotel overnight stays by domestic tourists in the Netherlands 2019-2023, by city
• Premium Statistic Monthly domestic tourist arrivals in hotels in Amsterdam 2019-2024
• Premium Statistic Monthly domestic tourist overnight stays in hotels in Amsterdam 2019-2024

Accommodation

• Premium Statistic Tourist accommodation establishments in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2012-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of accommodation services in Amsterdam, the Netherlands 2023, by type
• Premium Statistic Number of hotels in Amsterdam 2012-2023
• Premium Statistic Number of hotel rooms in Amsterdam 2012-2023
• Premium Statistic Average cost of overnight accommodation in Amsterdam 2019-2023, by month
• Premium Statistic Number of Airbnb listings in Amsterdam 2024, by room type
• Premium Statistic Number of Airbnb listings in Amsterdam 2023, by district

Visitor attractions

• Premium Statistic Attendance at selected music festivals in Europe 2023
• Premium Statistic Attendance at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam 2014-2023
• Premium Statistic Attendance at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam 2014-2023
• Premium Statistic Attendance at Artis Amsterdam Royal Zoo in the Netherlands 2014-2023
• Premium Statistic Attendance at the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam 2014-2023
• Premium Statistic Attendance at the NEMO Science Museum in Amsterdam 2014-2023
• Premium Statistic Attendance at the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam in the Netherlands 2014-2023

Further Content: You might find this interesting as well