The Municipality of Amsterdam has advised that, from January 1, 2020, group tours through the Red Light District windows, will no longer be allowed.
“We are banning tours that take visitors along sex workers’ windows, not only because we want to prevent overcrowding in the red-light district, but also because it is not respectful to sex workers,” Udo Kock, Amsterdam’s deputy mayor, said in the New York Times.
The municipality has also implemented a number of other changes that further restrict visitors:
- The prohibition of free tours and recruiting participants
- Tourists who participate in a tour will pay a tax.
- The maximum group size for guided tours goes from 20 to 15 people.
- There will be a quality mark for guides with quality requirements that guides must meet.
- Guides who offer a tour of the centre outside the Red Light District will also need an exemption; that is not yet the case.
- Tour times in the Red Light District have been extended from 19h00 to 23h00, effective April 1.
Tour guides are offered exemptions that allow them to facilitate a tour in the area. Guides who offer illegal tours, however, or those who fail to comply with the new rules, will be fined.
