Brits defy Amsterdam warning as stag do firms see 4306% surge in bookings
Amsterdam city council's warning for British men to 'stay away' from the city has had quite the opposite effect as bookings tripled this week.
The city's 'Stay Away' campaign is aimed to deter British lads aged 18-35 from visiting, targeting people who search for terms including 'stag party Amsterdam' or 'pub crawl Amsterdam' with TV and online ads.
The aim is supposedly to prevent "nuisance tourism" from the type of loutish visitors who get drunk, shout in the streets and urinate wherever they want.
READ MORE: Livid Amsterdam sex workers to protest over Brits being told to 'stay away' from city
It's hoped that stricter rules on alcohol and cannabis and limits on the red light districts sex clubs and brothels will make the city less attractive to British party animals.
In fact, from mid-May lighting up will be forbidden in public spaces in the inner city between 4pm and 1am from Thursday to Sunday.
Sex workers in the area have said they will protest the campaign while stag do organisers claim they may take action against the "xenophobic" adverts.
However, despite the warning from the council, a company which organises boozy trips to the Dutch capital saw quotes for holidays rocket 649% in just a day after news of the anti-lad advertising campaign began to circulate.
While the city has made it harder for visitors to get their hands on joints and space brownies and hop between strip clubs, it looks like British men aren't to be dissuaded.
Rather than deterring thirsty and debauched groups of clubbers from hitting the cobbles, it seems to have reminded people of what a great place for a boozy weekender Amsterdam can be, reports the Mirror.
The Stag Company – one of many firms selling packages to groups of stags and hens – saw a 4,000% increase in online interest yesterday, with a 649% rise in quotes leading to a 356% increase in bookings.
Tom Bourlet, head of marketing at the company, said that the ad campaign had "worked out quite well for us".
Despite a big shift post-Covid to UK based stag dos – from 64% abroad to 5% since 2020 – the Stag Company had around 800 Brits booked in to head to Amsterdam this year.
Tom argued that the reputation of UK stags and hens in the city had been unfairly earned, and suggested the kind of trousers-down behaviour for which we're known was increasingly a thing of the past.
Ian Johnson, head of content at Last Night of Freedom, said the efforts "are not going to work."
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"It feels unfair to tell the British as Dutch men in the same age group are just as likely to cause trouble," he told The Mirror. "It's a bit xenophobic really to focus on the British group. I couldn't see any trouble when I was there."
Ian added that the worst excesses of the stag scene had mostly dried up in recent years.
Where once groups of beery Brits would go for the sex shops and 'steak and strip' canal boat rides, nowadays people are opting for the likes of a Heineken brewery tour, go karting and bubble football.
Red Light photoshoots in which groups of men dress up in lingerie to pose for pics around the infamously blue district remain in demand with the cheeky-chappy market, he added.
Tom added: "Stag do's have been heavily stigmatised through this campaign. But what was really interesting was talking to the hotels out in Amsterdam, the perceptions are very different.
"Dutch stag groups are banned from a large number of hotels in Amsterdam, as they tend to come from outside Amsterdam and cause the most trouble, whereas British stag groups are largely welcomed.
"Overtourism is an area they're trying to tackle and stag groups are an easy target, as a few do paint a bad picture for the many, but most just want a fun weekend with friends to celebrate that they will be getting married."
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