So what has Amsterdam Centrum borough council come up with now to boost the city’s tourist industry and encourage professionals to come and work in the capital?

The latest scheme shows how completely out of touch the powers-that-be are when it comes to making the tourist and expat feel at home. The council is saying that it’s illegal for landlords to rent out flats for less than two months.
The council wants an end to long weekend breaks in a nice apartment with a canal view. It does not believe in a temporary home-from-home for those on short secondments or attending a trade fair.
Instead Amsterdam Centrum believes visitors should be forced into a hotel – and preferably one on the outskirts of town. The arguments for this bizarre plan are suitably illogical: if you go in for short-term lets, you are operating as a hotel. Which isn’t on.
Short term lets are apparently a fire hazard. And the city’s registry office needs to know who lives where at any time, so it can’t have tourists and other visitors mucking up the system.
You can rent a nice flat for a few days’ holiday everywhere in the world – except in Amsterdam. I’t is another great example of the Dutch capital shooting itself in the foot. Doubtless they won’t be following suit in The Hague, Maastricht, Rotterdam and Groningen…..