De Wallen resident in the Netherlands is full: ‘People with laughing gas tanks’

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Jeroen Pauw (l) and Sander Heijne in De Wallen.
Screenshot: NPO 1 / Netherlands is full

In The Netherlands is full, a TV series by Jeroen Pauw, last night it was about tourism. Numerous people from the tourist industry gathered about the crowds in our country – outside of corona time – but perhaps a story by a resident of the Amsterdam Red Light District was the most striking.

On Twitter, the hashtag #Nederlandisvol mainly produces messages about asylum seekers, but that is not what presenter Pauw on NPO 1 is about. It recently went into The Netherlands is full about flying and the meat industry, yesterday about (mass) tourism in Amsterdam and beyond.

Figures in the Netherlands is full

Jeroen Pauw kicks The Netherlands is full – yesterday good for almost 700,000 viewers, always with numbers. Now he did that sailing on the always crowded waters of Giethoorn. The figures before corona: in 2019 there were 45.9 million in our country, of which slightly more than half from the Netherlands itself (a tourist is someone who spends at least one night somewhere). More days off, price comparison sites on the internet and price fighters in aviation ensure that there are more and more. But especially the rise of Airbnb meant that we all went out even more massively than in previous years. The figures are expected to grow much faster towards 2030.

The Netherlands earns 91 billion euros a year from the tourism industry. More than 800,000 compatriots work in tourism, whether or not part-time. Where most tourists go and spend their money? Amsterdam, by far.

Ver-cream potization and full Red Light District

In The Netherlands is full a number of problems came up. For example, the ‘room-potisation’ of holiday parks was discussed. The power of Airbnb, where Member of Parliament Sandra Beckerman (SP) thinks that this phenomenon has been nice. And also ghost villages because people buy houses as holiday homes and then never stay there.

But when it comes to really busy, we’re talking – and The Netherlands is full also – of course about red lightDe Wallen district in our capital. Entrepreneurs from outside earn their (lots of) money there and have no further nuisance when they are in bed. For residents of De Wallen, however, a completely different story applies. Mass tourism in Amsterdam is in any case limited to a small area in the center of the city. Jeroen Pauw, walking past sex shops, prostitutes and catering: “Tourism not only brings a lot of good.” Journalist Sander Heijne walks with him: “The benefits and burdens are very unevenly distributed. People who live here and earn their money elsewhere in the city experience a lot of nuisance. Of people gossiping, spitting and pissing on the streets.”

Resident enjoyed the time of corona

Amsterdam resident Bert Nap, who claims to ‘live in the epicenter’, knows all about it. “I really enjoyed De Wallen in the time of corona. And early in the morning it is also quite a nice city. Only as the evening progresses do you see the madness increase.”

“What exactly is the madness?”, Jeroen Pauw wanted to say The Netherlands is full– table know. “When do you think what a bad night this is again?” Bert Nap: “On the one hand, the madness is the crowds, which puts a lot of pressure on the city. On the other hand, a certain kind of visitor who comes to the city with the idea that they can go on holiday morally. That’s what we call it.” Pauw: “Like: anything is allowed here.” Nap: “Yes, they come to town to drink, to er… (Pauw: “Yes, what are you going to call that word?”). They even walk through the neighborhood with nitrous oxide tanks and are then no longer approachable. And they leave behind anything you don’t want to find. But I like it.”

“Are those people getting too wide a job?” Jeroen Pauw wanted to know. Bert Nap: „Yes, the city started managing it too late. That is with many problems. It has to get really bad before it is recognized that there is a problem. Once the problem is on paper, it still has to change on the street.” Yet Nap remains faithful to his Amsterdam: “I will continue to live there, because I do not want to experience Staphorst on Sunday morning.”

Going next week The Netherlands is full – yesterday’s broadcast can be found here – about traffic.

Jeunnesse lived in the Bijlmer during the plane crash: ‘I lost my best friend’

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Resident of De Wallen in the Netherlands is full: ‘People with nitrous oxide tanks in the neighborhood’

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