Amsterdam to ban Red Light District tours

[Steel]

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/amsterdam-ban-red-light-district-tours/index.html

The city government has announced that it will end tours of the Red Light District in the Netherlands' capital, citing concerns about people -- in this case sex workers -- being treated as a tourist attraction."We do not consider it appropriate for tourists to leer at sex workers," city alderman Udo Kock, who proposed the bill, said in a statement.

Kock, who is the deputy mayor of Amsterdam, oversees local government departments including public housing and finance.

While the new ruling on tours will affect sex workers in the Red Light District, there will also be repercussions throughout the neighborhood, which is in central Amsterdam and extremely popular with tourists.

Dutch locals have complained about the increase in foot traffic, and measures have been taken to reduce tour group sizes (there is a maximum of 20 people) and to require all tour operators to have formal permits.

The ban will go into effect on January 1, 2020, which gives existing tour companies an opportunity to wind down their business in the Red Light District.

[sir whoopsalot]

Just to clarify, it's not just the red light district. There's some other spots where tours are being banned, this is just one of them.

[Vladnag]

I can see why, especially when girls are stood in windows to advertise their services, it must be off putting to have a load of tourists in a massive group coming through who you know just want to stare and move on. I also imagine most of them aren't super respectful since again, mostly tourists who are there to treat it as a site seeing experience.

Make room for the people who actually want to bust a nut god damnit.

[merp]

I've been on one of these tours and we were specifically told you don't look at the girls in the windows unless you're wanting to do business with them. It was actually really interesting hearing about the history & laws of the red light district. It's a shame, I'm guessing not everyone is as polite as our group was..

[The Devils Own]

I am planning to go there for 'business' on my RNR and I thought the article said it was getting banned from the country lol. Bout cried myself in bed with Sally Palm and her Five Sisters.

[caseytube]

While I do think it's a good thing to not gawk at sex workers with your tourism industry while providing little actual monetary gain, I also have to wonder what the reaction is from the sex worker community there, and if this is a good thing for them. This feels less like a change to protect the sex worker industry and more a way to protect the image of Amsterdam, and might end up hurting the sex industry there if it has a negative effect on the money they take in. I'd like to hear the side of the sex workers, or someone who's local, isn't a government official, and has their ear to the ground there.