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Amsterdam escort services face crackdown
Amsterdam, famed for its Red Light District, has given escort service companies six weeks to apply for official city licences.
The move is part of a crackdown on the city's sex industry which is seen as a cover for money laundering, human trafficking and abuse.
To get a license, escort agencies must have a fixed address and telephone number, and must guarantee that the prostitutes they emply are healthy and work in safe conditions.
In the past 18 months, the city has purchased and shut down around a third of the windows in its famed Red Light District, where scantily clad women have beckoned customers. Many have reopened as fashion shops.
The city also closed its famous upmarket brothel, Yab Yum, and has ordered the shutdown of several sex theatres.
Some estimates put the number of tourists visiting Amsterdam for sex at a third - though many are there just to look.
So far only a handful of the estimated 60 escort services have applied for a licence and it is unclear how the new law will be enforced.
This article was written for TravelSavvy Europe by Andy Cornish. If you know of an interesting European travel related news story, please get in contact.
