"When they're going to Auckland or to Wellington they stop in on their way. Or [they visit] when they're playing in Hamilton or Rotorua - it's not that much of a time difference from here," he said.
French rugby fans Jean-Michel Garnotel and Jean Lugardon (pictured) were travelling the country in a campervan with three other friends, using Mount Maunganui as a stop-over.
They are travelling New Zealand for one month and will take in two matches.
"[Tauranga] is on the road to Wellington. We visit the North Island," Mr Garnotel said.
Business owners said the spill-over of World Cup tourists into Tauranga from host centres has had a positive result on their shops.
Bill Campbell, owner of Fancy That souvenir store in Tauranga, said their recent customers had contributed to a bumper few weeks.
"We had one bus load of 80-odd. We've definitely had an upturn in sales, which I'd attribute to the World Cup.
"Nothing took off until the day of the opening ceremony [and then] all hell broke loose," he said.
Brigitte van Weele, manager of Slowfish Cafe in Mount Maunganui, said she too had noticed a surge in foreign visitors.
"We've definitely noticed an increase in visitors.
Hopefully it'll get busier."
Mount Mainstreet manager Leanne Brown said this was quite likely.
"We expect it to gradually increase over the next few weeks. I think the whole region could expect to see a lot more travellers around, and they're all going to be spending money."
