New flights link Hanoi direct to Amsterdam

Vietnam Airlines has officially inaugurated its non-stop service between Hanoi and Amsterdam, becoming the first Vietnamese carrier to operate a direct route connecting Vietnam and the Netherlands.

The new service marks a significant milestone in the airline's international network expansion strategy and further strengthens air links between Vietnam and Europe.The initial flight, VN83, departed Noi Bai International Airport at 3:50 AM on June 16, carrying nearly 300 passengers aboard an Airbus A350 wide-body aircraft.

After a flight time of more than 12 hours, the aircraft landed at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. In the opposite direction, flight VN82 departed Amsterdam for Hanoi at 2:00 PM on the same day.

Vietnam Airlines will operate three round-trip flights per week on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

"The inauguration of the Hanoi-Amsterdam service reflects Vietnam Airlines' continued commitment to expanding its international network and strengthening Vietnam's connectivity with key global markets," said Nguyen Quang Trung, executive vice president of Vietnam Airlines.

"This new route not only offers Vietnamese travellers more convenient access to Europe, but also facilitates greater travel to Vietnam for international visitors.

"As the national flag carrier, we will continue investing in service excellence and network development to meet evolving customer demand and further reinforce our role as an air bridge linking Vietnam with the world."

The new route also strengthens Vietnam Airlines' presence in Europe. With the addition of Amsterdam, Vietnam Airlines now operates 12 non-stop routes linking Vietnam with eight major European destinations: Paris, London, Frankfurt, Munich, Milan, Copenhagen, Moscow and Amsterdam.

And from July 1, Vietnam Airlines will increase the frequency of its Hanoi–Moscow service from three to four round-trip flights per week.

Glass half empty: beer sales slump in the heartland

The Netherlands is home to some of the highest-profile beer brands on the planet - among them Heineken, Grolsch and Amstel.

But the Dutch are losing their taste for beer, recent sales figures indicate.

Dutch beer sales have dipped 5.1% at home, the Nederlandse Brouwers organisation reported. The figures for non-alcoholic beers were worse: down 9.4%.  

The Dutch brewers association says the decline in beer sales is due to an 8.4% increase in excise duty on alcoholic beer and an almost 200% increase in consumption tax for non-alcoholic beer, pushing prices up, the drinks business news portal reported.

The association also identified that people also notably drank less due to the poor weather, which led to fewer opportunities for barbecues and drinking in pub gardens.

Nederlandse Brouwers said it was concerned about the sudden drop in non-alcoholic beer consumption in particular and has called upon its government to scrap the tax in a bid to support the industry.

On January 1, 2024, the Dutch government increased consumption tax on non-alcoholic drinks from €8.83 per hectolitre to €26.13 per hectolitre.

“Now that the holiday season has arrived, we hope people will go to the terrace or beach more often to drink a beer together," said Nederlandse Brouwers chairman Fred Teevan.

"Or enjoy the many beautiful beers brewed by Dutch brewers during a barbecue. It would be nice if we finally had a longer period of sunny weather. In any case, breweries are ready to respond to a beautiful summer.”

Image: Kapil Tejwani, Scop.io 

Amsterdam wants to scare away dope smoking tourists

The last time I visited Amsterdam there was fellow running around the streets menacing people with a machete.

He was clearly high on a substance a little stronger than cannabis.

But the good people of Amsterdam council are now apparently worried about marijuana tourism.

They are to launch a "stay away" campaign in the northern spring targeting tourists travelling to the capital for drugs, alcohol and sex purposes.

Which are, of course, three of Amsterdam's major tourism drawcards, whether the good local burghers like it or not.

The city's mayor is hoping to curb crime by banning smoking marijuana outdoors from mid-May.

Good luck with that.

Apparently, residents in the city centre have complained that tourist-fuelled nightlife noise has made the city unbearable.

The Dutch capital has long been known for its liberal attitude to drug use and sex work but will ban the smoking of cannabis on the streets of its red-light district, city authorities.

The ban, which will come into effect in mid-May, is seeking to tackle crime and anti-social behavior to improve the quality of life for the area's residents.

Amsterdam is a popular tourist hotspot and its marijuana cafes as well as its brothels and strip clubs draw in millions of visitors every year.

The real problem is not a marijuana smoking - it is an overabundance of tourists in cities that are relatively small.

Venice suffers from similar problems, as does Prague - neither of which are dens of drug smoking mania. Rome, too, and Dubrovnik.

What has happened in these cities - and many others - is that they have promoted themselves to tourists, and then discovered they lack the necessary infrastructure for the masses.

"Residents of the old town suffer a lot from mass tourism and alcohol and drug abuse in the streets," Amsterdam city fathers and mothers said in a statement.

"Tourists also attract street dealers, who in turn cause crime and insecurity," it added.

But therein lies a problem. 

Tourists are highly unlikely to flock to Amsterdam for the local cuisine, so when businesses start losing money my bet is that dope smokers will be welcomed back with open arms.