Last Thursday, March 23, our lab lead Roos Gerritsma was interviewed by Prof. Dr. Daisuke Abe from Ryukoko University in Kyoto, Japan. Mr. Abe is researching overtourism in cities, including Amsterdam. He said that he found it so striking and characteristic that the approach to tourism in Amsterdam is not focused on just one theme – such as increasing the tourist tax in Venice or preventing hotels and Airbnbs in Barcelona – but rather holistically, focused on many interrelated systems. During the interview, Roos talked about the latest developments, such as the recent Visiedocument Visiting Economy Amsterdam in 2035 (Dutch only). They agreed to keep in touch and explore which forms of cooperation are possible.
By the way, Mr. Abe was in Amsterdam for the 2nd time in his life, the last time was in 2012 and he could therefore confirm that tourism has grown enormously in the past ten years.