Amsterdam launches campaign against nuisance tourists

THE HAGUE, May 31 (Xinhua) -- The Dutch capital on Thursday launched a campaign asking male tourists aged between 18 and 34 to behave themselves in the city, or pay a high price if they fail to do so.

For example, misbehaving tourists will be fined 140 euros (163.81 U.S. dollars) for noise or pollution and a fine of 95 euros for public drunkenness.

The "Enjoy & Respect" campaign targets groups frequently visiting Amsterdam at weekends to party, drink, go on pub crawls and hold bachelor parties. "All too often, the result is drunkenness, noise in the street, litter, and public urination. As surveys on quality of life in Amsterdam have shown, this is a serious source of nuisance to residents, local business people and other visitors," said the Amsterdam city hall.

Tourists will see warning messages in the metro/bus, in the hotels, the restaurants, the cafes, and also through the outdoor outlets in the areas where they go to the most.

In the city centre the campaign will work by means of geo-fencing: as soon as a member of the target group enters the red-light district, Rembrandtplein, Leidseplein or the area around Amsterdam Central Station, he will receive campaign content and messages via social media.

The campaign costs 225,000 euros a year. It is not the first time that Amsterdam has come up with an initiative to reduce the nuisance of tourists, but this time it is a very explicit group that the municipality focuses on. Enditem