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'We must act now': Netherlands tries to control tourism boom [View all]
Source: The Guardian
'We must act now': Netherlands tries to control tourism boom
Strategy may involve tourist tax and closing down attractions in crowded regions
Daniel Boffey in Brussels
Mon 6 May 2019 15.39 BST Last modified on Mon 6 May 2019 15.52 BST
The tulips are being trampled, the people of Amsterdam squeezed out of their canal-side homes and the Netherlands’ most picturesque villages, famous for their windmills, swamped.
Now, with as many as 42 million people forecast to visit the country annually by 2030, up from 18 million in 2018, the Netherlands tourist board has had enough.
In a major shift, the board is moving its focus from promoting the country as a tourist destination to trying to manage the huge numbers coming in by plane, train and automobile.
A country of 17 million people can have too much of a good thing, it is suggested.
“We say that ‘more’ is not always better, certainly not everywhere,” a tourist board policy document states. “To be able to control visitor flows, we must take action now. Instead of destination promotion it’s time for destination management.”
-snip-
Strategy may involve tourist tax and closing down attractions in crowded regions
Daniel Boffey in Brussels
Mon 6 May 2019 15.39 BST Last modified on Mon 6 May 2019 15.52 BST
The tulips are being trampled, the people of Amsterdam squeezed out of their canal-side homes and the Netherlands’ most picturesque villages, famous for their windmills, swamped.
Now, with as many as 42 million people forecast to visit the country annually by 2030, up from 18 million in 2018, the Netherlands tourist board has had enough.
In a major shift, the board is moving its focus from promoting the country as a tourist destination to trying to manage the huge numbers coming in by plane, train and automobile.
A country of 17 million people can have too much of a good thing, it is suggested.
“We say that ‘more’ is not always better, certainly not everywhere,” a tourist board policy document states. “To be able to control visitor flows, we must take action now. Instead of destination promotion it’s time for destination management.”
-snip-
Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/may/06/we-must-act-now-netherlands-tries-to-control-tourism-boom
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