Amsterdam’s Coffeeshop Pain

Amsterdam has long been a tourist draw for millions, with many attracted to the city for its canals, architecture, and museums, and its plentiful cannabis-laden coffeeshops. In the Netherlands, selling drugs is illegal, but the Dutch government tolerates the sale of soft drugs in regulated coffee shops. Still, despite being allowed to remain open during the pandemic, opening times were reduced, and travel bans meant that a large proportion of their customers, tourists, were unable to visit. Amsterdam has not been the same since the Covid-19 pandemic struck, with tourism numbers sharply lower than the millions who visited in previous years. The Dutch tourism industry is still recovering and has a long way to go before it sees pre-Covid levels of activity. In the second quarter of 2021, accommodation and food services turnover were up 52.6% in the same quarter of 2020. However, it was over 35% smaller relative to the second quarter of 2019, and pre-Covid levels are still a long way off.