If you’re planning to go to Amsterdam, you might have to re-do your itinerary, famous red-light district tour to De Wallen will be banned from 1st April 2020. Femke Halsema, the Mayor of Amsterdam has cracked down on the nuisance caused to locals by ogling tourists who visit this place on group-tours to witness the famous red-light prostitution windows. De Wallen might be a well-known red light area, but it’s also a residential area which has through the years been badly affected by overcrowding due to guided tourists.
What’s In It?
This new move to ban red-light district tours at Amsterdam’s De Wallen has been met with alot of appreciation by sex workers. They see this to be a blessing as they find guided tours are bad for their business. It’s also considered disrespectful to see sex workers as some sort of tourist attraction. Tours also don’t give full context to tourists about De Wallen and its history rather just focusses on the sex workers.
The tourists are known to stop and linger for long periods of time here at the red light district, and this causes a lot of problems in the area. In fact, sex-workers who work here are also of the view that this move is a blessing, as the guided tours are bad for their business. It has further been noted that seeing sex workers as a tourist attraction is rather disrespectful, Moreover, the tours do not give the full context, and instead focusses on the sex workers. Bar crawls are also being banned at De Wallen.
Also Read: Amsterdam Has Europe’s Highest Swing That Let’s You View The Full City
What’s More?
Currently, a maximum of 15 guests can take the organized tours of Amsterdam’s red-light districts. But this can be done only after paying the entertainment tax. As of now, tours are operating from 8 am to 10 pm, and they are not permitted to pass prostitution windows. Apart from these stringent rules that need to be followed, guides must prevent people from loitering in busy places, including houses, bar and restaurants and consuming drugs or alcohol. But this is for the time being, as of 1st April 2020, red-light district tours in Amsterdam will be banned completely. So that’s it for now folks! But don’t worry, there’s plenty more to explore in the beautiful city of Amsterdam. Here’s The Ultimate Luxury Guide to Amsterdam Where To Stay, What To Eat & Where To Go