Why Amsterdam Is In No Rush To Witness Tourists Again?

There’s no a single person in front of the Rijksmuseum. At the moment, no one is being let inside the Anne Frank memorial. The five-stars are devoid of tourists- but obviously. And the smoke-infused, caffeine-smelling bistros lie vacant.

The famous reminder- a lingering vignette seeped in emotion and nostalgia (whilst also composed of a sense of timelessness) “Iamsterdam” has no tourists posing in front of it for selfies.

Wherever you gaze, there are no selfie sticks, no backpacking visitors and no coffee-drinking weed-puffing youngsters! Cannabis town and the electrifying night safari of human flesh sports a barren empty look!

It’s all deserted, honestly. Hey Amsterdam, oh Amsterdam- what happened to thou!?

On that note, we do know the problem. We are aware of the issue. But what everyone wishes to know is when might normalcy return to the city that, more often than not, among the top most priorities of every tourist’s plans soon as one chalks out a plan to visit Europe!

The question is a genuine and where it stands, then even a worrying one! But that told- there’s a clear answer as to why Amsterdam- the glorious and truly mesmerising city- is seemingly content not having any visitors whether at or inside its periphery anytime soon.

In fact, where it stands at the moment then due to the losses pressed by the disparaging issue of the Coronavirus that has hampered the tourism industry shaking it up considerably in a manner none may have predicted, Amsterdam lost around 90 percent of its bookings.

And can that ever be easy to deal with. Yet, there’s a surface issue which none could’ve put better than the city’s own Mayor!

So what does the mayor have to say about Amsterdam’s current situation?

The Guardian captured, in essence, the rather straight-talking response of the mayor and shared the following important insights:

Femke Halsema has sparked anger in the hotel industry by warning the city should be “extremely cautious” about restarting tourism, saying there is not enough space for its 800,000 inhabitants, plus the normal nine million overnight visitors, and for social distancing to be respected.

“I hear you talking about international tourism, and I know that there are 55,000 hotel beds waiting for guests, too,” she told a digital council meeting on Tuesday. “But in the coming time we need to be extremely cautious about stimulating regional, national and international traffic. If we do this excessively, we run the risk that Amsterdam becomes the fireplace for a second wave [of infection].

Suggested Read: How Did Germany Combat The Coronavirus Situation?

That being said, what’s also important to note that any kind of non-essential travel to The Netherlands (and therefore, to Amsterdam too) is banned completely until June 15.

There you have it: that’s half of the next month already!

Furthermore, here’s what one may want to take a note of:

“We have a surprising shortage of public space, so I urge caution!”

Moving on, Ms. Halsema’s concerns are for real and point to a clear direction as to why the city is right at abstaining from tourist arrivals in the imminent future:

In a heavily-populated city with a lot of visitors, it is even harder to keep a 1.5m distance,” she said. “The worst thing that can happen to Amsterdam is to have another lockdown because the number of infections is increasing.

One reckons, that explains it all! While there’s been a chaos with all of us being homebound, imagine the threat it may suddenly unleash if all were to go outbound in a jiffy? What impact might such a sudden move have on internationally renowned travel destinations?