Beginning January 1, 2020, Amsterdam will no longer offer guided tours for tourists in the red-light district.
There are several tourist attractions that bring visitors to Amsterdam each year, including the iconic canals filled with floating houses, museums such as the Anne Frank House, galleries and more.
In addition to these things, the red-light district usually sits quite high on a tourist’s list of must-sees when visiting this interesting city.
According to The New York Times, Amsterdam’s deputy mayor, Udo Kock, recently made a statement explaining it’s “outdated” to allow tourists to gape at sex workers’ windows and view them as an attraction.
The number of visitors has increased to about 19 million each year causing overcrowding in the streets which then, in turn, leads to problems. As the number of tourists walking through the red-light district grows, the amount of local paying clients decreases. Prostitutes then lose business.
Certain tour companies believe going ahead with the ban will only make things worse. Tourists will still find themselves strolling the red-light district, but instead without guides reminding them to keep quiet and refrain from taking photographs.
From the increasing number of fines for unnecessary behavior to the disrespect shown to sex workers, city officials think banning tours in the red-light district is the perfect place to start to begin solving the constant issues arising in this area.
