Ravers from all over the world simply love Amsterdam. Every October, the city hosts the internationally acclaimed Amsterdam Dance Event
– but Amsterdam also has the best offer for dance music shows all year round. Venues are usually packed with both locals and tourists. Though it might be a good thing to keep the tourist flow coming, new regulations will take place in the upcoming months in order to allete residents from the craziness of receiving more and more people everyday. Less housing options and higher tourist taxes are just some of the examples of the city’s new resolution.The biggest measure impacts directly on AirBNB owners: soon, they won’t be able to rent their homes more than 30 days per year, and in some neighborhoods, a full ban on holiday rentals will be implemented. With this restriction, renting a place in central Amsterdam for the weekend will not be that easy, and will hopefully ease the residents’ concerns of seeing new faces on their buildings everyday. Yvette Hofman, from the GroenLinks green-left party said:
“We have to ensure the city stays liveable for all residents. This is a subject that really matters to residents, who have felt under attack by increasing crowds, partly due to Airbnb and illegal hotels. They have complained they no longer know their neighbours and of [a tourist] monoculture in the centre. This is about balance.”
Other actions include reducing beer-bike tours, docking the tour boats outside the city center and having a strict policy on tour guide permits. The tourist tax will be increased too, as the city plans to raise € 105 million a year by 2022.
So, if you are planning on a little trip to Amsterdam, the best idea is to go now.
[H/T]: MixMag