( CNN ) -- Coffee shops in the Dutch city of Maastricht have banned foreign tourists , except those from Germany and Belgium , from entering their premises from Saturday , according to the local association of coffee shops . Coffee shops in the Netherlands are places where customers can legally buy and consume cannabis . `` We have put in place a 'neighbouring country ' criteria , '' Marc Josemans , president of the Society of United Coffeeshops and owner of the Easy Going coffee shop , told CNN . `` This is a form of self-regulation . It is not a law , there will be no judge , this was just the only choice we had . '' The move comes after Maastricht 's city council decided that something had to be done about the 2.2 million visitors that come to the city every year , according to Josemans . `` The visitors put a lot of pressure on the city when they come here and make it very busy on our narrow streets . So the city said that something had to be done about the traffic and nuisance , '' he said . `` But the biggest nuisance is n't the number of coffee shops or the clients , but the illegal drug runners that can be quite aggressive and start fights and rob the tourists . '' All visitors to Maastricht 's coffee shops -- some 6,000 a day , almost three-quarters of whom are foreign , according to Josemans -- already have to show their passports and their information is then kept for 48 hours . Now only those with a Dutch , German or Belgian passport will be allowed in . `` A number of people will leave disappointed , and we are not very proud of refusing entry to visitors who have come to our shops for the last 28 years and never caused a problem , '' said Josemans , who has himself used cannabis for 35 years . `` The question now will be if they instead buy from the illegal drug runners here or if they buy illegally in their own countries . '' Nobody from Maastricht city council was available for comment Saturday . A spokeswoman for Maastricht police told CNN that the police were not a party to the ban and that it is not illegal for foreign tourists to enter the city 's coffee shops . The spokeswoman , who is not named in line with department policy , said police would not carry out any identity checks to enforce the ban . `` We will just go about our normal business and carry out our duties where needed , '' she said . At spokeswoman at the tourist office for Maastricht , which lies near the Belgian border , said it was not aware of the new rules . The Society of United Coffeeshops decided on the ban in July but it only came into effect October 1 . The organization is also working on a plan to move seven of the city 's 14 coffee shops to the outskirts , where foreign tourists can then go and buy hash and marijuana , Josemans said . `` But the first relocation wo n't happen until June 2013 , so we had to put this ban in place now , and we could then change it again once we 've completed the relocation . `` At these new sites , the parking ( areas ) will have direct access to the coffee shops , so the drug runners ca n't approach the clients as they walk to the coffee shop . '' Josemans also says the Dutch government wants the coffee shops to operate on a smaller scale and is planning to impose a nationwide ban on anyone who does n't hold a Dutch passport buying cannabis . `` They want to put this 'weed pass ' in place from January 1 next year , but we are strongly against this . '' A press release on the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice website from May this year says coffee shops will become private clubs where only adult Dutch citizens can become members . `` The Cabinet expects that closure of coffee shops to foreign drugs tourists will ensure that they no longer travel to the Netherlands to purchase and consume cannabis . After all , many of them can use the illegal markets available in their immediate surroundings , '' the press release says . The statement does not give a date for the implementation of the new measures . CNN 's calls to the Dutch justice ministry were not immediately returned . But Josemans says cannabis supply is not only a Dutch problem . `` This is also the responsibility of the other European governments ; nobody is taking responsibility for those millions of customers who want to buy cannabis for their own use , '' he said . `` It is time to get their heads out of the sand to get a decent drugs policy in place to address this problem . ''
The city authorities say they need to cut visitor numbers . Many visitors crossed the border to use coffee in the city 's coffee shops . Now only Belgian and German visitors will be allowed in to such shops .