Amsterdam, vibrant capital of the Netherlands, has officially decided to ban advertisement for fossil fuels, high – carbon travel (flights and cruises) travel advertisements and meat products in the city’s public spaces, following similar initiatives in The Hague and other Dutch municipalities.
The measure was approved by the Amsterdam city council on January, 22, 2026 , a new ordinance, which will come into force from May, 1, 2026, with which is explicitly prohibits outdoor advertising in metro, train stations, canopies, posters of cruise or plane travel for promoting the use of fossil fuels, making it the first capital city in the world to implement such a ban.
Key details of the ban include:
• Effective Date: The ban is set to take effect on May 1, 2026.
• Scope: The ban covers billboards, bus shelters, and digital screens in public spaces, including buses, metro stations, and trams. It applies to advertisements for air travel, cruises, petrol/diesel vehicles, and meat products.
• Context: The move follows a landmark 2025 court ruling in The Hague, which determined that municipalities have the right to prioritize public health and climate goals over commercial advertising freedom.
• Implementation: While passed by the council, there is some pushback regarding the timeline, with calls for a “reasonable transition period” rather than a strict May 1, 2026 start.
• Broader Trends: Amsterdam joins other cities like Delft, Haarlem, The Hague, and Utrecht in enacting such restrictions, which are designed to combat climate change.
The initiative is part of a broader push to reduce the influence of advertising that promotes high - carbon lifestyle.
Councillor Jenneke van Pijpen, representing Groenlinks, a green and social democratic political party in the Netherlands and one of the promoters of the regulation, stated that in Amsterdam there is no room for advertising for the big companies that fuel the climate crisis. You cannot say that you take climate policy seriously and continue to allow this type of announcement.
Alongside Amsterdam, other cities in the Netherlands, such as Delft, Nijmegen, and Utrecht are also working on similar restrictions that threaten not only Dutch tourism companies, but also Spanish tourist destinations that want to carry advertising campaigns in this important source market, the sixth in importance with 4.99 million tourists in 2025.
The proliferation of these bans in these cities are also preparing similar regulations, has gained strength after the ruling in favour of The Hague City Council in the litigation initiated by the country’s main tourism association and the most important tour operators.
In April 2025, the judge dismissed arguments by the Dutch Association of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators (ANVR), TUI, and Prijsvrij Vakanties & D - reizen, which argued that the ban violated the right to freedom of expression and entrepreneurship.
President of the ANVR, Arjan Kers, believes that the ruling has given wings to other municipalities to apply similar measures and reveals to Tourismnews that the association is studying whether to appeal it and raise it to a higher court, for which the calls for the union of the tourism sector.
ANVR President commented that the employers’s association is evaluating the new steps with the advice of legal services and it is a rather complicated political decision that the Association is going to face and fight.
The President of the Netherlands Travel Trade Association is concerned about the escalation of bans, calling these decisions “the beginning of the end”, asking what would be next such as ban advertising on radio, TV or in the windows of travel agencies, and he also warns that this is not something that affects Dutch companies exclusively, but has a more global impact, highlighting that these decisions damage the business and the destinations with whom ANVR collaborates on campaigns in the home market.
Link
https://infoturlatam.com/amsterdam-sigue-el-ejemplo-de-la-haya-y-prohibe-la-publicidad-de-viajes/
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