Keep calm and stay away.
Amsterdam has launched a new ad campaign targeting party-loving British tourists — telling them to think again.
The campaign, aimed at British men aged between 18 and 35, wants to curb these “nuisance” travelers, who overindulge in the Netherlands capital where marijuana and prostitution are legal.
The new ads are featured prominently whenever someone in Britain searches for terms like “stag party Amsterdam,” “cheap hotel Amsterdam” or “pub crawl Amsterdam.”
The accompanying videos show the repercussions British men can face when coming to the city to get “messy.”
“The advertisements show the risks and consequences of nuisance and excessive use of alcohol and drugs: fines, getting arrested, a permanent record, hospital admittance and health damage,” the city’s government warns.
British men appeared to be singled out in the ad campaign following years of reports and complaints from Amsterdam residents regarding male UK visitors engaging in drunken brawls, urinating in public and throwing up in canals.
The British government has previously acknowledged a problem with its citizens’ behavior in Amsterdam, warning its youth to avoid overdrinking when on vacation following a 2013 study.
“Some young Brits on holiday are putting themselves at risk of serious harm such as hospitalization, arrest or detention,” the British government said at the time.
Sofyan Mbarki, Amsterdam’s deputy mayor, said the latest ad campaign was an effort for the city to continue to crack down on bad behavior in the capital following ads in 2018 targeting British and Dutch men.
“Visitors will still be welcome, but not if they misbehave and cause a nuisance,” Mbarki said in a statement about the ads.
“Amsterdam is a metropolis and that includes bustle and liveliness, but to keep our city livable, we’re now choosing limitation instead of irresponsible growth.”
In recent years, the city has put up large billboards in its red light district to show photos of residents with the tagline: “We Live Here,” to discourage rowdy behavior.
Ian Johnson, a spokesman for Last Night of Freedom, which organizes bachelor and bachelorette parties in Amsterdam, condemned the ad as “alarmist” and said it unfairly painted British tourists in a bad light.
Johnson also predicted that the new campaign would do little to deter tourists and rid Amsterdam of its party city reputation.
“Business is booming on our end,” he told the New York Times. “I don’t think this is going to stop it.”
According to Amsterdam’s website, the city is one of the most visited in the world, with about 20 million tourists coming every year.
