How to get a grip on overtourism? Not through taxes, but through access

It has been in the air for a while, but NOS reports today that the City of Amsterdam is being taken to court over mass tourism (and especially the lack of action to curb it). The residents' group "Amsterdam has a choice" rightly argues that the municipality is not doing enough.

The alderman points out that holiday rentals (such as Airbnb) are being further restricted, but fails to mention that the vast majority of visitors do not sleep in an Airbnb at all, but in a hotel.

How Amsterdam is trying to steer

The residents' group sees a (very) sharp increase in the tourist tax as the solution. But is that true? Amsterdam already has one of the highest rates in the world, and as a percentage of total spending during a stay, even a (much) higher tourist tax will not make a big difference. A higher levy will also quickly trigger criticism that the city is becoming “accessible only to the rich.”

What actually helps?

Personally, I have long been convinced that steering through access rather than price will be the key. Think of a quota system, where you can only book a hotel, visit the Rijksmuseum, or disembark from your cruise ship with an ‘access token’. Such a token does not necessarily have to cost anything (in addition to the existing tourist tax): it is about control. Control over whether visitors can stay overnight and whether they can do something. This creates a mechanism to influence (reduce) the city’s attractiveness and thereby keep the tourist flow manageable.

The bottom line

To me it is clear that higher tourist taxes alone will not solve this problem. But that a solution is urgently needed is beyond question.

The NOS article can be found here.