Check if you can follow the new ‘Amsterdam rules’ before you plan a trip there

Presenting the next chapter in the Dutch capital’s ‘Stay Away’ campaign aimed at rowdy tourists

Like most places on Earth, Amsterdam wants to be cool and appealing to tourists, but there’s a caveat. It wants to attract a more responsible, quiet and mature crowd of visitors from now on, hence the city is heavily promoting a new set of rules to potential visitors with a specially designed website.

Called ‘Amsterdam Rules’, the website invites people planning a getaway to the Dutch capital to take a quiz or two in order to better understand whether the city will match their expectations.

It’s a more interactive, creative and fun way to let those party-minded trippers consider another destination instead or to pipe down their plans and opt to discover the more cultural sights of Amsterdam, of which there are plenty.

The new website, which will be first promoted in the British market, where many of the rowdier visitors originate, is seen as a follow-up to the ‘Stay Away’ campaign launched last year. The latter raised awareness with its videos on social media showing what may happen to misbehaving tourists but apparently did not really change the number of budget travellers.

Quiz your expectations of Amsterdam

Sofyan Mbarki, deputy mayor of Amsterdam, explained to a council meeting last night that the new initiative aimed to also focus on the positive sides of the city, ditching the scaring away approach of last year’s campaign.

For example, the website offers you different quizzes depending on your stated purpose of visit. Among the questions you’ll encounter one asks: “What famous Dutch products would you like to try?”, before listing different options, including stroopwafels, tulips, molly (a slang word for ecstasy) and cocaine.

Those picking the last two options will then get a message warning: “Buying drugs from street dealers is illegal. Street dealers sell fake drugs which are dangerous for your health. Buying drugs on the street can lead to getting fined.”

If you show the website that you are willing to respect the rules and aren’t going there to seek trouble, you’ll be presented with the button that takes you to the official tourism portal of the city – Iamsterdam.

The rules website will soon be published in Italian, Spanish and French. There will also be a website focused on Dutch tourists from outside the capital. The campaign will run until the end of 2024.