Amsterdam (TAN): It might pinch your pockets a bit more if you want to visit the gorgeous tulip gardens or the picturesque windmills in the Netherlands.
If things go to plan, you could soon have to pay to visit the mills. It will also get more expensive to visit the city centre of Amsterdam, with proposals to increase tourist tax.
On the other hand, it might be cheaper soon to stay in the city centre with efforts on to reduce holiday rentals via online agencies like Airbnb. Tourists will also be encouraged to visit other parts of the city.
Local residents of popular tourism spots in the Netherlands such as the Zaanse Schans windmill village and the Keukenhof tulip gardens are complaining about overcrowding at these spots which, they say, is simply spoiling the fun.
Overcrowding by tourists can be tackled by increasing the popularity of other places in the “low country” and regulating tourist visits via online reservations, Jos Vranken, director of the Dutch tourism organization Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions (NBTC), told the local Dutch newspaper Telegraaf. The NBTC is responsible for promoting tourism in the Netherlands nationally and internationally.
Locals living in the Zaanse Schans windmill village north of Amsterdam have protested proposals by the local council to build a car park and charge entrance fees. “We don’t need extra tourists. It has to be fun to come here and not have to stand in a queue to visit the shops,” shopkeepers’ association spokesman Marc van Dorth told the Telegraaf.
Local residents said tourism cannot be regulated at the Zaanse Schans because it is a public area. The idea of a fence around the might not work, Piet Oudega, chairman of the Zaanse Schans association told the paper. He is in favour of asking the tourists to pay to visit the mill.
Amsterdam now sees 19 million tourists a year. The number is expected to cross 30 million in 2030.
