Amsterdam council banned cruise ships from the city centre as the Dutch capital tries to limit the number of visitors and thus limit pollution.

This decision means that the main cruise terminal on the river IJ, near Amsterdam Central Station, will be closed. It is the latest measure to crack down on mass tourism in the city.

Cruise ships have become a symbol of the problem, with more than 100 docking in the capital each year. The council is trying to clean up the city by banning cannabis smoking on the streets of the red light district. In March the city launched an online campaign calling on young Brits to consider whether they should stay away from their bachelor parties in Amsterdam.

Amsterdam has become a victim of its own popularity, attracting 20 million visitors annuallysome drawn by the city’s reputation for partying.

“Cruise ships in the city center do not fit with Amsterdam’s decision to reduce the number of tourists,” said Ilana Ruderkerk of the liberal D66 party, which runs the city together with the Labor Party and environmentalists.

Ms Rooderkerk recently compared cruise tourists to a sort of “plague of locusts” which simultaneously descend on the city.
Mayor Femke Halsema complained last year that cruise tourists came down to the city for a few hours, ate at international chains and didn’t have time to visit a museum/

The other main reason for the abolition of cruise ships is to reduce air pollution levels in Amsterdam. A 2021 study of a large cruise ship found that it had produced the same levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) in a day with 30,000 trucks.

Other berths away from the city center have been considered for some time, but no decision has yet been made.

In a separate development, Amsterdam has announced plans to boost its nightlife for young people. The aim of the city administration is to find nightclub locations such as tunnels and garages to develop the talent of “creative young people who want to organize something at night”.