Many tourists visit Dutch border towns every year. They do not come to these towns because of the sights but because of coffee shops. They are mostly young people and usually cause trouble in the towns. Therefore the local authorities are taking measures to prevent the disturbance.
Maastrich is a lovely medieval town which attracts a lot of tourists. According to official statistics, about 2 million tourists arrive in the town every year. They are mostly young people who, however, do not want to see the sights but come for a weekend marihuana party.
There are 13 coffee shops in the town in which young people buy marihuana and hashish. These coffee shops are very busy during weekends, but not many Dutch people can be seen there. Most visitors come there from Belgium or Germany as both countries are not far from the town.
According to server Ihned.cz Maastricht and also other border towns are looking for ways how to get rid of the unwanted tourist attraction. Surveys have shown that crime rate is quite high in the towns which are visited by 'marihuana tourists' over the weekends. The authorities from border towns are trying to put through a rule that the foreigners who come to the country just because of buying drugs will not be allowed to purchase any. The effort, however, runs up against the free business regulations.
Nonetheless, the facts speak for themselves. Maastricht's crime rate is three times higher compared to the crime rate in other towns of the same size that are situated in interior. The citizens complain about the disturbance of peace. Young tourists arrive in the town in big groups that cause a lot of noise and disarray. Other unpleasant drawback of 'marihuana tourists' is that they attract hard drugs' dealers into the town.
