In a recent announcement, the Municipality of Amsterdam revealed that it is planning on changing the location of its famous Red Light District.
According to the relevant authority, this action has been proposed to keep away party tourists from the heart of the city.
Femke Halsema, the Mayor of the city, has written a letter to the Amsterdam City Council Members about the same.
He also sent them a comprehensive proposal that outlines the establishment of the multi-story complex outside of the city center.
In the words of the Mayor, the Erotic Center, as it is called, should also be accompanied by the 100 brothels that are located in the district.
Meanwhile, the window brothels would only be visible when people looked from the inside of the building.
Consequently, they would not be visible from the outside, and passersby would not be exposed to them.
The Mayor
Mayor Halsema later talked about the letter, saying that in the Amsterdam Accord of 2022-2026, the coalition made an agreement to cut down on the number of windows located in the Red Light District.
According to the Mayor, this would be done by relocating a set portion of the Erotic Center to a different area.
As a result, sex workers would have added control over their work. But as of now, the initial step is to choose a potential location to move the Erotic Center (EC).
While discussing his proposal, Mayor Halsema outlined how the Wallen neighborhood mainly attracts party tourists.
He added that the area has hundreds of window brothels, is an attraction for those who are searching for sex theaters, tourist shops, as well as budget hotels.
Consequently, he believes that all these factors contribute to the lack of control and management over the area.
Europaboulevard
Thus, his proposal suggests moving the Erotic Center to a different location, namely in Europaboulevard.
This area is only 500 meters away from the establishment of the European Medicines Agency.
The proposed location for the Red Light District has been chosen based on the evaluation that the area is a socially resilient neighborhood.
Moreover, it is located right outside Ring A10, which will make it easy to access by public and private transport.
Amsterdam
In the last couple of years, Amsterdam has been taking initiatives to keep away various kinds of tourists.
These especially include noise travelers, who travel to the city primarily to smoke weed and spend time partying in the Red Light District.
In the previous year, the city took to launching an anti-tourist campaign, which was titled Stay Away.
This campaign targeted cannabis, drug, and sex tourists and openly discouraged bachelor parties.
Meanwhile, in February 2023, Amsterdam announced new laws to restrict the use of cannabis, primarily in the Red Light District and several coffee shops.
It also announced that bars and restaurants would have to close at 2 am, and the same would apply to the Red Light District as a whole.
Where brothels are concerned, they have been told to shut down all activity by 3 am.
