if they relocate it to suburban areas, it is probably better for us punters. it is will be difficult to reach by ordinary tourist. They will not be spoiled by the tourists any longer. For us it will not be a problem as long as it is within the major transport lines.
They are talking about relocating to areas more than 30 minutes away from the centre of town. I agree with your point that tourists won't be a problem for them in the new location and that is exactly what they want. However, for me personally the effect of the relocation will be far worse, for many reasons:
1. The centre of Amsterdam is where I want to stay when i go there, because there are far more amenities in the centre. It is great that the red light district is in the centre as you can have a punt and walk back to your hotel or wherever else you want to go. I wouldn't want to be travelling more than 1 hour back and forth to get to the new setting.
2. It is nice to walk around the RLD at the moment, and see if any lady takes your fancy. If there is nobody, its no great loss as everything else is in the centre as well. I often walk around the RLD 4 or 5 times in a day to have a punt or see who is available - that will not be possible at the new setting as there is nothing else to do around there.
3. I like the atmosphere around the De Wallen red light area. Once all of the girls have gone, it will be much quieter and far less atmospheric. I also worry that some of the coffee shops and restaurants will go as well, both of which are an important part of my stay. The new setting is more like a hotel with rooms behind closed doors.
4. If there are far less tourists, the new setting will have far less girls as there won't be enough demand for them all to work. That means less choice for us punters. The authorities have already hinted that the new setting will have less rooms than the current windows.
As i say, these are reasons personal to myself as I don't just go for the punting but for the coffee shops etc as well. It is great having the hotel within walking distance of the RLD, and I love having the chance to visit the RLD a few times during the day for 2 or 3 punts at different times. The new locations they are talking about are definitely not places you would want to stay. Travelling more than 1 hour back and forth a few times a day would mean no time for anything else and would ruin the appeal of Amsterdam for me.
Amsterdam is widely regarded as not being the greatest punting destination due to quality of service often not great etc, but I still like going for the reasons mentioned above. If the close the current RLD, I'm not sure I will go anymore as other European cities would appeal far more.