As the

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city that physically encompasses t ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

is the main engine of growth in the

Welsh economy The economy of Wales ( Welsh: ''Economi Cymru'') refers to the production and consumption of goods and services and the supply of money in Wales. The percentage of all individuals, living in relative income poverty in Wales in 2016–17 was 2 ...

; the city has been developing as a significant service centre and economic driver for the wider

south east Wales South East Wales is a loosely defined region of Wales generally corresponding to the preserved counties of Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and Gwent. Highly urbanised, it includes the cities of Cardiff and Newport as well as large towns in th ...

economy. The city and the adjoining

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

contribute a disproportionately high share of economic output in Wales. The Cardiff travel to work area has grown significantly since 1991; the 2001-based version includes much of the central South Wales Valleys in addition to the Vale of Glamorgan. In the 19th century, the economy of Cardiff benefitted most from coal exportation and steel production. Cardiff's port became the world's most important coal port, handling more than London and Liverpool. Today, Cardiff is a centre for white-collar professions. The city relies principally on the retail, finance,

media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

sectors, and has been undergoing major regeneration since the late 20th century particularly in

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre ( cy, Canol Dinas Caerdydd) is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway st ...

and

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay ( cy, Bae Caerdydd; historically Tiger Bay; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it serves as the river mouth of the River Taff and Ely. The body of ...

Economic data

GDP

The economy of Cardiff and adjacent areas makes up nearly 50% of Welsh GDP and 40% of the city's workforce are daily in-commuters from the surrounding south Wales area.

Employment

Total employment in Cardiff stood at 190,948 in 2008, a rise from 149,000 in 1991 to 176,700 in 2005, and has been growing at around 2005 per annum in recent years, almost double the rate across Great Britain (1.3%). In addition, an estimated 18,000 people are self-employed, taking the total workforce to around 194,000. Following the decline of the city's heavy industry in the latter part of the 20th century, the economy of Cardiff is now dominated by the service sector (see table of employment by industry below) with just 9% of employees – 15,650 individuals – engaged in manufacturing activities. Public administration, education and health is the largest sector in Cardiff, providing employment for 32% of the city's workforce. Cardiff is the main financial and business services centre in Wales and as such, the sector provides employment for 20% of the city's workforce. This sector, combined with the Public Administration, Education and Health sectors, have accounted for around 75% of Cardiff's economic growth since 1991. 20.4% of employees in Cardiff are based in the distribution, hotels and restaurants sector, highlighting the growing retail and tourism industries in the city. A major £675 million regeneration programme for Cardiff's

St. David's Centre St David's ( cy, Dewi Sant), previously known as St David's Shopping Centre, is one of the principal shopping centres in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. It is in The Hayes area of the southern city centre. Following the extension of St Dav ...

was carried out between 2006 and 2009 which provides a total of of shopping space, making it one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom. Cardiff has above average levels of employment in the financial services sector in comparison with Wales and Great Britain as a whole. The city has above average representation in sectors such as financial services, the provision of call centres, TV and film, and the manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations. Employment growth sectors in Cardiff have, to an extent, mirrored national trends, with particularly high levels of growth in construction, distribution, hotels and restaurants, transport and communications, banking, finance and insurance, and public administration, education and health.

Unemployment

In 2010, the city had an unemployment rate of 4.4% - although this represents a slight increase from the 2.2% recorded in 2004 when it compared favourably with the Wales average of 5.2% and the United Kingdom average of around 8%,. In 2010 unemployment in Cardiff was higher than the Wales and UK rates, but lower than in Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow and Manchester. Unemployment in Cardiff is concentrated in the southern areas of the city, and is highest in the

Butetown Butetown (or ''The Docks'', cy, Tre-biwt) is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, the capital of Wales. It was originally a model housing estate built in the early 19th century by the 2nd Marquess of Bute, for whose t ...

ward. Unemployment has risen considerably in Cardiff. Between 2000 and 2008 the total number of unemployment claimants in Cardiff stood at around 5,000. By 2010 this figure had risen to around 10,000. Claimant rate in Cardiff is significantly higher for men (6.0%) than for the city's female (2.2%) population.

Earnings

Average earnings for workers in Cardiff lead the all Wales average. As of 2009 full-time gross weekly earnings in Cardiff stood at almost £460, compared with almost £490 for the UK, and £440 for Wales. Earnings in Cardiff have grown 45% between 1998 and 2009, more or less mirroring the UK and Wales average trends. At £483.20, average weekly earnings for residents in Cardiff are relatively close to the UK average of £488.70, and significantly greater than the Welsh average of £444.90. As average residents in the city are earning more than the average worker, this implies that those travelling into the city to work earn less than those who live in Cardiff. Average earnings for residents in Cardiff are higher than many other major UK cities, such as Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool, although they do still lag the UK average as well as Bristol and Edinburgh.

GVA

In 2007, Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan had a GDP of £9.432 billion

GBP Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

. In the same year,

Gross Value Added In economics, gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the value of goods and services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. "Gross value added is the value of output minus the value of intermediate consumption; it is a measure o ...

per head was £21,195. This figure is higher than both the Welsh and UK GVA per head at £14,853 and £19,951 respectively, as well as cities including Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool. Total GVA growth between 1995 and 2007 was 91%.Cardiff Council , Cardiff Today: Key Economic Statistics
/ref>

Commuters

Out of 197,000 workers in Cardiff in 2008, 126,100 live in the city and 70,900 commute from the surrounding region. 27,100 people who live in Cardiff commute out of the city.

Qualifications

Overall Cardiff's qualified population consistently outperforms the Wales and UK averages by some distance. This is partly determined by demographics, with Cardiff's relatively young population, and also the existence of a number of universities in the South East Wales region. In 2008, 38.5% of the city's population were qualified with an NVQ4+, compared to 26.5% in Wales and 28.9% in the UK. The proportion of Cardiff's working age population with no qualifications is lower than the Wales and UK averages. 11.1% in the city had no formal qualification, compared to 14.1% in Wales and 12.7% in the UK. Cardiff is also particularly highly qualified in comparison with other cities in the UK. 32% of its residents have a degree or equivalent. Of the major cities outside London, only Edinburgh and Brighton have a higher proportion of its working age population with a degree or equivalent.

Industry

Since the 19th century, a number of differing industries have shaped the city, and continue to do so today.

Coal

What transformed Cardiff into a big city was the demand for coal required in making iron and later steel, brought to the sea by

packhorse A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of ...

from

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after T ...

. The Ironmasters, the proprietors of the smelters in Dowlais and Merthyr, wanted to reduce the cost of carrying iron by road to ships berthed in the estuary of the River Taff at Cardiff. They sought permission of Parliament to build a long canal from Merthyr (510 feet above sea-level) to the Taff Estuary at Cardiff. Work on building the

Glamorganshire Canal The Glamorganshire Canal in South Wales, UK, was begun in 1790. It ran along the valley of the River Taff from Merthyr Tydfil to the sea at Cardiff. The final section of canal was closed in 1951. History Construction started in 1790; being ...

began in 1790, took eight years and involved installing 50 locks. The Cardiff Sea Lock, which enabled barges to unload iron into seagoing ships, was built at Harrowby Street (Harrowby - a Viking place-name - had been the original Norse trading post in Cardiff). Eventually the

Taff Vale Railway The Taff Vale Railway (TVR) was a standard gauge railway in South Wales, built by the Taff Vale Railway Company to serve the iron and coal industries around Merthyr Tydfil and to connect them with docks in Cardiff. It was opened in stag ...

replaced the canal barges and massive marshalling yards sprang up as new docks were developed in Cardiff - all prompted by the soaring worldwide demand for south Wales coal. By 1907 Cardiff's docks had of

quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths ( mooring locatio ...

age, one of the largest dock systems in the world at that time.The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales. Cardiff: University of Wales Press 2008. Cardiff's

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as H ...

, known as Tiger Bay, became - for some time - the world's most important

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

port, and for a few years before World War I the tonnage handled at the port outstripped London and

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

(however, some statistical tables conflate

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

and

Penarth Penarth (, ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg), Wales, exactly south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a weal ...

trade figures with Cardiff's, so the role of the coal port can be inflated). In 1907, Cardiff's Coal Exchange was the first host to a business deal for a million

pounds Sterling Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and ...

. Competition from the new docks at Barry from the 1890s, and falling demand for Welsh coal during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the First World War to the beginning of the Second World War. The interwar period was relative ...

, contributed to the decline of the port. By the 1980s large areas of Cardiff docks were derelict, and a regeneration project that eventually transformed South Cardiff began.

Steel

The construction of the East Moors Steelworks, known as ' Dowlais by the Sea', established Cardiff as a major

steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and carbon/or scrap. In steelmaking, impurities such as nitrogen, silicon, phosphorus, sulfur and excess carbon (the most important impurity) are removed from the sourced iron, and alloy ...

centre in the 1890s and was the first example of the Welsh industry's move from inland to coastal locations. The plant's main products were steel plates for

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to bef ...

(though it did not provide the hoped-for stimulus for a local shipbuilding industry) and by the 1930s it was manufacturing half a million tons of steel per year. Although the East Moors works closed in 1978, steel production continues in Cardiff at the Celsa Steel UK plant in

, which produces reinforcing bars and

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is co ...

Retail

Retail Retail is the sale of goods and Service (economics), services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturing, manufacturers, dire ...

also plays a strong role in the city's employment, with it being listed as being the 6th best place to shop in the UK according to recent surveys. The majority of Cardiff's shopping portfolio is in the city centre around Queen Street and St. Mary's Street. There are also numerous suburban retail parks serving the city. Cardiff retail sector is dominated by three main shopping arcades located in the city centre;

Queens Arcade Queens Arcade ( cy, Arcêd y Frenhines) shopping centre is located in Cardiff city centre. It opened on 28 April 1994. History Developed on the site of the Allders department store and the similarly named Queen Street Arcade, the main entrance ...

and the Capitol Centre. The current expansion of St. David's Centre as part of the St. David's 2 project is allowing a huge piece of land between

The Hayes The Hayes ( cy, Yr Ais) is a commercial area in the southern city centre of the Welsh capital, Cardiff. Centred on the road of that name leading south towards the east end of the city centre, the area is mostly pedestrianised and is the location ...

and Charles Street to be demolished and redeveloped, bringing around 200 shops, flats and a John Lewis department store to the city. This will more than double the available floor space, making it one of the largest shopping centres in the United Kingdom. As well as these modern shopping arcades, the city is still home to many Victorian shopping arcades, such as High Street Arcade, Castle Arcade, Wyndham Arcade, Royal Arcade and Morgan Arcade. There are two main shopping streets in the city centre. Queen Street is home to the main chain stores such as

Topshop TOPSHOP (originally Top Shop) is a British fashion brand for women's clothing, shoes and accessories. It was part of the Arcadia Group, controlled by Sir Philip Green, but went into administration in late 2020 before being purchased by ASOS o ...

Topman Topman is a UK-based multinational men's fashion retail brand founded by Burton Group (later renamed Arcadia Group) in 1978. Along with its women's clothing counterpart Topshop and the rest of Arcadia Group, Topman went into administration i ...

, Boots, Gap,

Dorothy Perkins Dorothy Perkins is an online British women's fashion brand based in the United Kingdom. Formerly a store chain, it sold both its own range of clothes and branded fashion goods until February 2021, when it became part of Boohoo.com, having bee ...

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not us ...

, and Zara to name a few. The second main street, St. Mary Street and High Street, is home to Wales' oldest and largest department store, Howells and is also home to smaller independent stores. Also of note is

, home to

Spillers Records Spillers Records, established in 1894, is recognised as the oldest record shop in the world."The owners of Spillers Records, recognised by Guinness World Records as the oldest such emporium on Earth, say that it will close unless a buyer is found ...

, which was established in 1894 and is officially recognised as the world's oldest record shop. The city is also host to

S A Brain Brains (S. A. Brain & Company Ltd.) is a regional brewery based in Cardiff, Wales. It was founded in 1882 by Samuel Arthur Brain. The company controls more than 250 pubs in South Wales (particularly in Cardiff), Mid Wales and the West Country. T ...

, a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

with premises in Cardiff since 1882. The current brewery is located next to

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

. Cardiff has a number of markets: these include the vast Victorian indoor Central Market, Splott Market, Riverside Farmers Market and associated farmers' markets in Roath, Rhiwbina and Llandaff North which all specialise in locally produced and organic produce, and a smaller 'fruit & veg' style St. David's Market on Barrack Lane which will be improved with the coming of St. David's 2. Several out-of-town retail parks also exist, in locations such as Newport Road, Culverhouse Cross, Cardiff Gate and Cardiff Bay. There have been a number of issues relating to city centre shopping, most recently the cost of parking in the city centre and the experimental banning of private cars on St. Mary's Street. Both have been heavily criticised by some sectors of the media, public and retailers. Up to one million extra shoppers a month have been coming into the capital since the new phase

St. David's St Davids or St David's ( cy, Tyddewi, , " David's house”) is a city and a community (named St Davids and the Cathedral Close) with a cathedral in Pembrokeshire, Wales, lying on the River Alun. It is the resting place of Saint Da ...

opened. Footfall counters have recorded around one million extra visitors per month in early 2010 compared to 2009.

Finance

Cardiff is thriving as a centre for financial and business services which account for 50,000 jobs in the city. Cardiff is home to a large number of globally recognised financial services companies which have continued to grow during the economic downturn due largely to a competitive business model and a skilled and qualified workforce. Today, Cardiff is the principal

finance Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of f ...

and business services centre in Wales, and as such, there is a strong representation of finance and business services in the local economy. In December 2003, 33,850 individuals were employed in the sector - higher than the proportion across both Wales (9.6%) and Great Britain (15.4%) . The city was recently placed seventh overall in the top 50 European cities in the FDI 2008 Cities of the Future list published by the fDi magazine, and also ranked seventh in terms of attracting foreign investment. Legal & General,

Admiral Insurance Admiral Group plc is a British financial services company headquartered in Cardiff, Wales. Listed on the London Stock Exchange, it is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index, and markets the ''Admiral'', ''Bell'', ''Elephant'', ''Diamond'' and ''Vey ...

HBOS HBOS plc was a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group, having been taken over in January 2009. It was the holding company for Bank of Scotland plc, which operated the Ba ...

, Zurich,

ING Direct The ING Group ( nl, ING Groep) is a Dutch multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in Amsterdam. Its primary businesses are retail banking, direct banking, commercial banking, investment banking, wholesale banki ...

Confused.com Confused.com is a UK based financial services comparison platform specialising in comparison of insurance and financial services, including car insurance, home insurance, energy, van insurance and life insurance. Confused.com's platform includes ...

The AA AA Limited, trading as The AA (formerly The Automobile Association), is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. Th ...

, Principality Building Society, 118 118,

British Gas British Gas (trading as Scottish Gas in Scotland) is an energy and home services provider in the United Kingdom. It is the trading name of British Gas Services Limited and British Gas New Heating Limited, both subsidiaries of Centrica. Servi ...

Brains A brain is an organ that serves as the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. It is located in the head, usually close to the sensory organs for senses such as vision. It is the most complex organ i ...

, SWALEC Energy and BT (based in Stadium House) all operate large contact centres in the city, many based in Cardiff's office towers such as Capital Tower and Brunel House.

Barclays Barclays () is a British multinational universal bank, headquartered in London, England. Barclays operates as two divisions, Barclays UK and Barclays International, supported by a service company, Barclays Execution Services. Barclays traces ...

Partner Finance is headquartered in

Pontprennau Pontprennau is a ward and community in the north of the city of Cardiff, Wales, lying north of Pentwyn and Cyncoed, between the village of Old St Mellons and the farmlands east of Lisvane. The community had a population of 7,353 in 2011. His ...

. Other major employers include

NHS Wales NHS Wales ( cy, GIG (Gwasanaeth Iechyd Gwladol) Cymru) is the publicly-funded healthcare system in Wales, and one of the four systems which make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. NHS Wales was formed as part of the public ...

and the

National Assembly for Wales The Senedd (; ), officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and () in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees certain taxes and scrutinises the Welsh Go ...

. The Cardiff-based

Bank of Wales The Bank of Wales (Welsh: ''Banc Cymru'') was a commercial bank in Wales which was founded in 1971. The bank was taken over by the Bank of Scotland plc in 1986 and ceased trading under the Welsh brand in 2002. It is now a trading name used by ...

was founded in 1971, but was later taken over by

and the brand name dropped.

Media

Cardiff is home to the Welsh media and has a large media sector with

BBC Wales BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Wales. It is one of the four BBC national regions, alongside the BBC English Regions, BBC Northern Ireland and BBC Scotland. Established in 1964, ...

S4C S4C (, ''Sianel Pedwar Cymru'', meaning ''Channel Four Wales'') is a Welsh language free-to-air public broadcast television channel. Launched on 1 November 1982, it was the first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking ...

and

ITV Wales ITV Cymru Wales, previously known as Harlech Television and HTV Wales, is the ITV (TV network), ITV franchise for Wales. The new separate licence began on 1 January 2014, replacing the long-serving dual franchise region serving Wales and the Wes ...

all having studios in the city. Employment in the sector has grown significantly in recent years, and currently provides employment for 2.1% of the city's workforce - higher than the level across Wales (1.1%) and marginally lower than that across Great Britain as a whole (2.2%).

BBC Radio Wales BBC Radio Wales is a Welsh radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the 'Radio 4 Wales' opt-out service (previously the Welsh Home Service). Radio Wales b ...

and

Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio network owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts on two stations across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and online. The main network broadcasts for hours a day from ...

have their main studios in Cardiff, while both Capital FM and

Heart FM Heart is a British radio network and brand of 13 adult contemporary local stations operated by Global throughout the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming. Ten of the Heart stations are owned by Global, while th ...

also have a studio presence in the city. A cluster of content driven providers is also flourishing in the city including design, animation, gaming, TV production, film, music, and journalism businesses.

Information and Communications Technology

Cardiff has experienced significant investment in information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure in recent years, with the city and wider region being well served by modern communications. Many industries covered by this sector have moved from high volume production to specialist, lower volume, high value-added production. Such research and development activity is anticipated to be the strongest driver of economic growth in the sector. Cardiff is also home to the European Centre of Research and Development.

Tourism

Cardiff is one of the most popular tourist destination cities in the United Kingdom, with 14.6 million visitors in 2009, an increase of 50% in 10 years, who spent £703.6 million in the city, an increase of 36% since 2004 In recent years, the city has become a major tourist destination, with recent accolades including being voted the eighth favourite UK city by readers of the Guardian, being listed as one of the top 10 destinations in the UK on the official British tourist board's website Visit Britain, and US travel guide Frommers listing Cardiff as one of 13 top destinations worldwide for 2008. The large-scale redevelopment of Cardiff at the beginning of the 21st century has turned the city into a far more popular destination for foreign visitors. The most foreign tourists come from France and

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...

, with Cardiff as the fifth most visited UK city by Australians. According to VisitBritain, "visitors told us that the attraction of Cardiff as a glorious capital city, with an historical resonance, was the reason for visiting". Cardiff's top attraction is the

Wales Millennium Centre Wales Millennium Centre ( cy, Canolfan Mileniwm Cymru) is an arts centre located in the Cardiff Bay area of Cardiff, Wales. The site covers a total area of . Phase 1 of the building was opened during the weekend of the 26–28 November 2004 an ...

, which in 2007 recorded almost 900,000 visitors, ahead of the

National Museum A national museum is a museum maintained and funded by a national government. In many countries it denotes a museum run by the central government, while other museums are run by regional or local governments. In other countries a much greater numb ...

, the St Fagans National History Museum and

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle ( cy, Castell Caerdydd) is a medieval castle and Victorian Gothic revival mansion located in the city centre of Cardiff, Wales. The original motte and bailey castle was built in the late 11th century by Norman invaders on top ...

. In addition, Cardiff's status as the location of venues such as the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm y Mileniwm), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Principality) for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it is the home of the Wales national r ...

means that the city receives influxes of anything up to 100,000 visitors during major sporting events such as Six Nations and

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb ...

matches. There are a large number of hotels within the city, most notably the five-star Hilton hotel in the city centre, and St David's Hotel & Spa located in

. Hotels operated by Copthorne and

Marriott Marriott may refer to: People *Marriott (surname) Corporations * Marriott Corporation, founded as Hot Shoppes, Inc. in 1927; split into Marriott International and Host Marriott Corporation in 1993 * Marriott International, international hot ...

are also located in Cardiff, along with numerous smaller hotels,

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

s and hostels. These are mainly located on St Mary Street, Newport Road and the Taff Embankment opposite the Millennium Stadium. In total, the city's hotels have almost 9,000 available bed spaces. According to monitoring undertaken by Tourism Development & Visitor Services, 96% of visitors described their visit to Cardiff as either ‘enjoyable’ or ‘very enjoyable’ (Cardiff Visitor Survey, 2009). Of visitors surveyed, 94% rated the overall quality of their visit as ‘Excellent’ or ‘Good’ with 97% of respondents saying that they would recommend a visit to the city. (Visitor Satisfaction Questionnaire 09/10). The majority (95%) reported that they had been made to feel welcome during their visit to the city. Attractions, in particular Cardiff Bay and Cardiff Castle, along with people and atmosphere were mentioned most frequently as the best thing about a visit to Cardiff. The most popular locations visited/intended to be visited by all visitors were Cardiff Bay (55%), the shops (53%) and Cardiff Castle (51%). For visitors from the UK, Cardiff's shops were most likely to be visited (50%) whilst the priorities for visitors from overseas were Cardiff Castle (80%) and Cardiff Bay (70%).

Sciences

Cardiff has a strong cluster of around 100 bioscience related companies and organisations and

Cardiff University , latin_name = , image_name = Shield of the University of Cardiff.svg , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms of Cardiff University , motto = cy, Gwirionedd, Undod a Chytgord , mottoeng = Truth, Unity and Concord , established = 1 ...

has a growing international reputation for research expertise in bioscience related disciplines. Major international companies like GE Healthcare (employing over 1,000 people locally), Shaw Healthcare, Bio Trace and Cogent, complement an innovative small firm sector attracted by the university and the 2,500 local students and 500 doctorates in bioscience related disciplines.

Property & development

Cardiff is currently enjoying several regeneration projects like the £270 million International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay which will play a part in

London 2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. It features the only Olympic-standard swimming pool in Wales, the Cardiff International Swimming Pool, which opened on 12 January 2008. The Tiger Bay area also housed one of the UK's earliest non-white

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

communities. After a long period of neglect, it has now been regenerated as

- a popular area for culture, entertainment and nightlife. Much of the growth has been thanks to the building of the Cardiff Barrage. Two large international business parks are planned for the north of Cardiff, the largest being at Thornhill which may include the building of a new junction on the

M4 motorway The M4, originally the London-South Wales Motorway, is a motorway in the United Kingdom running from west London to southwest Wales. The English section to the Severn Bridge was constructed between 1961 and 1971; the Welsh element was largely ...

, the other being at junction 33. The average house price in Cardiff is £181,226, which represents a drop of -0.5% since last year. Cardiff has a strong rental market, particularly in the city centre and Cardiff Bay where house rentals are almost double the national average and the number of total transactions exceeds the total number of properties. According to Zoopla.co.uk the average house price in Cardiff is £188,910, the most expensive post code in Cardiff is CF15 with an average house price of £237,174 which covers suburbs such as Tongwynlais, Radyr and Pentyrch in the North of the city. House sales in the city rose by 60% in May 2009 in spite of the housing slump and economic recession. House prices are lower than at the peak of the boom but are now rising again."Cardiff property sales rise by a massive 60%", Western Mail 5 June 2009
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