Saturday 17 October 2015 4:05 pm

Rugby World Cup 2015: Economic impact in Wales worth £316m as New Zealand and France come to Cardiff

It's not only on the pitch where Wales have performed at this year's Rugby World Cup – the wider economy has scored results too with Cardiff receiving a £316m boost from hosting eight games at the event.

Quarter-final matches New Zealand v France and Ireland v Argentina both take place at the Millennium Stadium this weekend, which is expected to have been visited by over 550,000 fans by the tournament's end.

According to the South Wales Chamber of Commerce, the rugby-loving travellers will have injected £316m into the city as pints were pulled, hotel rooms booked and trys cheered.

The business group's representation manager Elgan Morgan told Wales Online:

The games at the Millennium Stadium and the fanzone have created a feel-good atmosphere in the city, but this will also be felt economically with an estimated £316m being generated off the back of the tournament.

We have welcomed visitors from all over the world to watch rugby this autumn, and have already heard that every hotel room in the capital is sold out – with some people using Airbnb to rent out rooms in their homes.

According to the South Wales Chamber of Commerce's figures, 45,000 pints have been sold in just one bar close to the Millennium Stadium, while such was the frenzy to see this weekend's quarter-finals hotels have been booked out with the final available rooms going for nearly £2,000.

Despite the host nation's early exit in record time, the tournament has been successful from organisers' perspective with huge TV audiences and record-breaking crowds which have the tournament on course to be the highest-attended single sport event in history after the World Cup.

Yet after upsetting the bookmakers by beating England and qualifying for the group stage, it is Wales who have so far received the most frenzied support with a total attendance of 305,455 for their four pool games the highest in the tournament.