These European cities want a better class of tourist after the coronavirus pandemic – less of the party crowd, more museum visitors and culture consumers

For the benefit of residents, cities in Europe want to neutralise the ‘negative effects’ of rowdy visitors by attracting those seen as more culturally refined

Amsterdam wants fewer red-light-district visitors, Barcelona wants people interested in more than its beaches, Venice wants businesses ‘different from tourism’

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Tourists on Charles Bridge in Prague in the Czech Republic. Officials in various European cities like Prague are making plans for the type of tourist they want to visit again. Photo: Getty Images

Published: 5:15pm, 18 Aug 2021Updated: 5:15pm, 18 Aug 2021

On a warm Friday night in July, the sun seemed to linger behind Amsterdam’s low, 16th century skyline. In the red light district, the crush of tourists that was common before the pandemic had long since vanished, making it easy for a delivery worker to cycle past a handful of gawkers around the old town’s notorious storefronts.

While six German men in matching T-shirts ignored signs warning of a €95 (US$111) fine as they swilled beers on a nearby footbridge, they were the exception. Mostly, only small groups of sedate strollers were about the Netherlands’ capital on this midsummer evening.

Centuries before its more lurid attractions took hold, Amsterdam was already a tourist draw. As far back as 1345, when a communion wafer at a local church apparently proved indestructible, pilgrims flocked to see the miracle host.

In modern times, decidedly less spiritual activities have drawn millions to the city’s quaint, canal-lined quarters. And the noise, garbage and violence followed.

A crowd of people outside a pub in Amsterdam in 2017. Photo: Getty Images

The city was already scrambling to find ways to restrain the tourist trade before the coronavirus struck. Hefty fines for public drinking, tight restrictions on short-term rentals and outright bans on certain types of shops were implemented. But more visitors kept coming. By 2019, their numbers approached 9 million – more than 10 per resident.

Then, it all stopped. For months, tourists where nowhere to be found as borders were sealed tight. Later, as infection waves receded, only a trickle returned. Overall, Amsterdam’s commercial establishments have seen almost 25 per cent fewer visitors since Covid-19 first arrived.