As the

capital city A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

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

is the main engine of growth in the Welsh economy; the city has been developing as a significant service centre and economic driver for the wider south east Wales economy. The city and the adjoining

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( ), locally referred to as ''The Vale'', is a Principal areas of Wales, county borough in the South East Wales, south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf t ...

contribute a disproportionately high share of economic output in Wales. The Cardiff

travel to work area A travel to work area (TTWA) is a statistical tool used by UK Government agencies and local authorities, especially by the Department for Work and Pensions and Jobcentres, to indicate an area where the population would generally commute to a ...

has grown significantly since 1991; the 2001-based version includes much of the central

South Wales Valleys The South Wales Valleys () are a group of industrialised peri-urban valleys in South Wales. Most of the valleys run northsouth, roughly parallel to each other. Commonly referred to as "The Valleys" (), they stretch from Carmarthenshire in the ...

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 * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

and

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the Commerce, commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. World Tourism Organization, UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as ...

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

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre () 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 stations – Cardiff Cen ...

and

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay (; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it is the river mouth of the River Taff and River Ely, Ely. The body of water was converted into a lake as part ...

Economic data

GDP

The economy of Cardiff and adjacent areas makes up nearly 20% 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 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'', ) is a district and community (Wales), 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 John Crichton-Stuart, 2nd Marqu ...

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 Gross domestic product (GDP) is a monetary measure of the total market value of all the final goods and services produced and rendered in a specific time period by a country or countries. GDP is often used to measure the economic performance o ...

of £9.432 billion

GBP Sterling (symbol: £; currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of sterling, and the word '' pound'' is also used to refer to the British currency general ...

. In the same year,

Gross Value Added In economics, gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the value of goods and service (economics), services produced in an area, industry or sector of an economy. "The ''gross value added'' is the Value of output (economy), value of output minus t ...

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%.

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 () 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 Tydfil, daughter of K ...

. 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 The River Taff () is a river in Wales. It rises in the Brecon Beacons as two rivers, the Taf Fechan ("little Taff") and the Taf Fawr ("great Taff") before becoming one just north of Merthyr Tydfil. At Cardiff, it empties into the Bristol Chan ...

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 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 stage ...

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 ( or wharfs), 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 Berth (mo ...

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 Hamburg, Manch ...

, 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 Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

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

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

(however, some statistical tables conflate Barry and

Penarth Penarth ( , ) is a town and Community (Wales), community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales, approximately south of Cardiff city centre on the west shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay. Penarth is a Seaside resort#Brit ...

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 (Currency symbol, symbol: Pound sign, £; ISO 4217, currency code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound is the main unit of account, unit of sterling, and the word ''Pound (cu ...

. 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, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

, 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 Dowlais () is a village and Community (Wales), community of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Merthyr Tydfil, in Wales. At the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census the electoral ward had a population of 6,926, The populati ...

by the Sea', established Cardiff as a major

steelmaking Steelmaking is the process of producing steel from iron ore and/or scrap. Steel has been made for millennia, and was commercialized on a massive scale in the 1850s and 1860s, using the Bessemer process, Bessemer and open hearth furnace, Siemens-M ...

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 Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

(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 bar Rebar (short for reinforcement bar or reinforcing bar), known when massed as reinforcing steel or steel reinforcement, is a Tension (physics), tension device added to concrete to form ''reinforced concrete'' and reinforced masonry structures to ...

s and

wire file:Sample cross-section of high tension power (pylon) line.jpg, 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 d ...

Retail

Retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

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; St. David's Centre, Queens Arcade 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 () 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 of the H ...

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, Topman,

Boots A boot is a type of footwear. Most boots mainly cover the foot and the ankle, while some also cover some part of the lower calf. Some boots extend up the leg, sometimes as far as the knee or even the hip. Most boots have a heel that is clearl ...

, Gap, Dorothy Perkins,

Primark Primark Limited (; trading as Penneys in Ireland) is an Irish multinational fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland, with outlets across Europe and in the United States. The original ''Penneys'' brand is not used outside of Irel ...

, 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 worlds oldest record shop. History Spillers was founded in 1894 by Henry Spiller at its original location in Queens Arcade, where the shop specialised in the sale of phonographs, wax p ...

, 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. At its peak, the company controlled more than 250 pubs in South Wales (particularly in Cardiff), Mid Wales and the ...

, 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 b ...

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 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 refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

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 ''fDi Intelligence'' is an English-language bi-monthly news and foreign direct investment (FDI) publication, providing an up-to-date review of global investment activity. The A4 glossy pages reach a circulation of 15,488 ABC audited, active corp ...

, and also ranked seventh in terms of attracting foreign investment.

Legal & General Legal & General Group plc, commonly known as Legal & General, is a British multinational financial services and asset management company headquartered in London, England. Its products and services include investment management, lifetime mortg ...

, Admiral Insurance,

HBOS HBOS plc is 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, Bank of Scotland plc, which ...

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

ING Direct ING Group N.V. () 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 banking, private ban ...

, Confused.com,

The AA AA Limited, trading as The AA, is a British motoring association. Founded in 1905, it provides vehicle insurance, Driver's education, driving lessons, breakdown cover, loans, motoring advice, road maps and other services. The association Demut ...

, 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. Serving ...

, Brains, 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 PLC (, occasionally ) 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 ...

Partner Finance is headquartered in Pontprennau. Other major employers include

NHS Wales NHS Wales () 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 health system for England and Wales crea ...

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, Its role is to scrutinise the Welsh Government and legislate on devolve ...

. 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-speakin ...

and ITV Wales 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 Wales, Welsh national radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It began broadcasting on 13 November 1978, replacing the Welsh opt-out service of BBC Radio 4. As of August 2022, the stat ...

and

Radio Cymru BBC Radio Cymru is a Welsh language radio station owned and operated by BBC Cymru Wales, a division of the BBC. It broadcasts across Wales on FM, DAB, digital TV and BBC Sounds. The station broadcasts general factual and entertainment pro ...

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

Heart FM Heart is a network of thirteen independent adult contemporary radio stations in the United Kingdom, broadcasting a mix of local and networked programming, although only the stations in Scotland and Wales still have their own shows. Ten of the s ...

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 ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, with Cardiff as the fifth most visited UK city by Australians. According to

VisitBritain VisitBritain is the name used by the British Tourist Authority (formerly the British Travel & Holiday Association), the tourist board of the United Kingdom incorporated under the Development of Tourism Act 1969. Under memoranda of understanding ...

, "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 () is Wales' national 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 26–28 November 2004 and phase 2 opened on ...

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

National Museum A national museum can be 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 the United States, most nati ...

, the

St Fagans National History Museum St Fagans National Museum of History ( ; ), commonly referred to as St Fagans after the village where it is located, is an open-air museum in St Fagans, Cardiff, Wales, chronicling the historical lifestyle, culture, and architecture of the Wels ...

and

Cardiff Castle Cardiff Castle () 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 of a 3rd-century Roma ...

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

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

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 Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

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

bed and breakfast A bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. In addition, a B&B sometimes has the hosts living in the house. ''Bed and breakfast'' is also used to ...

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 Cardiff University () is a public research university in Cardiff, Wales. It was established in 1883 as the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire and became a founding college of the University of Wales in 1893. It was renamed Unive ...

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, were 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 usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

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 the third longest 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 ele ...

, 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
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Economy And Industry of Cardiff