Amsterdam’s officials plan to reduce the city’s river cruise cap by at least 10% year-on-year.
In 2024, the city officials set a target of accepting only 1 150 ships per year to be implemented by 2028, as reported by Travel News.
The implementation of a new cap of 1 755 river ship calls for 2025 is based on the 1 950 calls the city received in 2024. In the coming years, the tourism plan will send river cruise lines an annual reduction quota for the following year based on its bookings for the previous year.
According to the European River Cruise Association, river cruise passengers make up two percent of annual visitors to Amsterdam, generating about $257 million (R4,5 billion) in direct spend.
The association is negotiating with city officials to increase the cap for 2025 and has put forward other measures such as prescribed docking time periods to manage overcrowding.
Amsterdam is also cracking down on ocean cruises. The city aims to phase out cruising at its city centre cruise terminal by 2035, as reported by Travel News.
