The mayor of Amsterdam has sought political support to reduce the red-light district's population after discovering that a third of foreign tourists and half of Britons would no longer visit the city if they could not buy cannabis.
Femke Halsema, who hinted that it will reduce the number of cannabis sellers, presented councilors with the results of a survey in hopes of finding a solution for tourists visiting the city simply to get into drugs.
The high number of tourists is a problem for Amsterdam as it overcrowds roads and blocks tourist attractions. The city has 1.1 million residents and welcomes more than 17 million visitors each year. The city is determined to make visitors stop using cannabis-tolerant policies.
A survey by the Bureau of Statistics, Research and Information found that 34% of those visiting the Singel area, where the red light district is located, would rarely go to town if foreigners could not buy cannabis. 11% said they would never go back to Amsterdam.
