In the red light district introduced a tax on visits

From April 1, restrictions on groups of tourists who visit this popular area with guides began to apply in Amsterdam. So the city authorities intend to reduce the number of tourists, and protect the privacy of sex workers.

 

Guides who conduct excursions in the Quarter for groups of 5 to 20 people must obtain a permit for 111.4 euros, it will be valid until January 1, 2020, regardless of the date of receipt.

 

In the area plan to place “additional power structures” to make sure that the requirements of guides and their visitors. In case of non-compliance, fines will be issued.

 

The city authorities did not rule out the possibility of entering an “entrance fee” for guests. Metje Blaak, a former sex worker who is now a candidate in the municipal elections in Amsterdam, as an “expert” analyzed the amount of the tourist tax, and called the amount of 5 euros. She believes that this will help reduce the number of curious people and help workers in the sex quarter to save their jobs.

 

M. Blaak says that due to the influx of tourists in the Red Light District, the atmosphere and anonymity associated with the specifics of “work” are lost, and prostitutes lose customers. “Tourists often shout, make noises, or clap their hands loudly, preventing them from working. For this reason, the number of sex workers in the Quarter is constantly decreasing. More than a hundred windows are closed. Women go underground and work at home.”

 

M. Blaak offers a compromise solution: everyone who paid 5 euros for a visit to the Red Light area will return the money on the condition: “Only when you visit one of the sex workers, your deposit will be returned at the exit.”

 

According to information: atorus