With the Easter holidays just around the corner tourists from all over the world will be flocking to the Doctor Who Exhibition in Olympia, London generating a healthy revenue stream for BBC Worldwide and the surrounding area.

While the revenue for the soon to be closed Doctor Who Exhibition at the Red Dragon Centre, Cardiff Bay will still be spooling into BBC Worldwide’s account, one place it won’t be helping to improve the economy is the area now most synonymous with Doctor Who: Cardiff.

This Sunday sees the exhibition open its doors for the last time – to be replaced in 2012 with a new Doctor Who Exhibition at a different site.

The year long gap between competing exhibitions means that the Cardiff Bay area will lose out on thousands of pounds in tourists money. The site has drawn more than half a million visitors since it opened in 2006.

One person not taking this lightly is Graham Jones, who currently runs the Doctor Who display at Cardiff:

“If you want to see wee kids crying then you ought to come  down to the Red Dragon this Easter because they will come  down here to an empty shell.”

Graham is aghast at the BBC’s decision to close the centre during one of its busiest periods:

“We thought that they would  have respect and regard for their fans…It does seem that this decision  has been made in a way that is  not very compassionate towards Cardiff.”

A BBC Worldwide spokesman said:

“We announced the consolidation of our three main  Doctor Who exhibitions in the  UK last September, including  plans to close the Cardiff attraction this coming weekend.

We’re delighted that our relationship with the home of the  show will continue as we plan  to bring the Doctor Who Experience to Cardiff in 2012 at a  new site.”

What do you think of the closure? Did anyone have plans to go to the Cardiff Bay Exhibition over Easter?

(via Walesonline)