https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/amsterdam-looks-ban-foreign-tourists-17754231Amsterdam could introduce measures to ban foreign tourists from buying cannabis in its famous coffee shops and dispensaries.
The proposal is part of attempts by city mayor Femke Halsema to get to grips with soaring visitor numbers contributing to overcrowding in the Dutch capital.
The relaxed policy towards cannabis is a major driver of tourism in the city of 1.1million inhabitants, which attracts 17million visitors every year.
Mayor Halsema has already introduced a ban on group tours in the city's Red Light District to combat overcrowding and the exploitation of sex workers.
In a letter to councillors, she said she wanted to commission "a study this year to reduce the attraction of cannabis to tourists and the (local) regulation of the back door".
"A clear separation of markets between hard drugs and soft drugs has great urgency because of the hardening of the trade in hard drugs."
The letter, aimed at winning a political consensus for her plan, contained statistics from a survey of foreign tourists revealing that a third overall would be less likely to visit again if they could not buy cannabis.
Amsterdam's research, information and statistics office also said nearly half of Brits would be less likely to visit the city again if they were prevented from making use of its coffee shops.
Amsterdam is a hugely popular resort for tourists from Merseyside, with around 2.3 million travellers flying from Liverpool John Lennon Airport each year.
