Bitcoin
El Salvador’s Tourism Rises 30% After Bitcoin Became Legal Tender
El Salvador’s tourism has grown more than 30% after adopting bitcoin as legal tender, according to the country’s ministry of tourism. The Salvadoran government stated that bitcoin increases the possibilities to do business with other countries around the globe.
El Salvador’s Economy Grows with Bitcoin Law
The Salvadoran government has highlighted some economic benefits that can be derived from the legalization of bitcoin. The country’s bitcoin law went into effect in September last year, making BTC a national currency alongside the U.S. dollar.
A notice posted Monday on the government’s website explains that it was possible to see the benefits of bitcoin in El Salvador during the first months that it became legal tender. It also mentions that the first sector where it was possible for the government to verify the impact of bitcoin on the economy was tourism.
Morena Valdez (head of the Ministry of Tourism – MITUR) stated that the implementation of bitcoin has benefited the sector. “The implementation of bitcoin has benefited the sector in attracting more tourists and investors,” she explained.
We did a poll to check the activity before and after bitcoin. The tourism sector increased, in November and December, more than 30%.
The tourism minister continued: “Expectations of recovery in this sector have been exceeded since 1.1 million visitors had been projected and 1.4 million have been received.” Minister Valdez noted that 60% of the visitors to El Salvador came from the U.S.
The notice on the government’s website states that cryptocurrency, along with other initiatives taken by the Salvadoran government increases the chances to do business with more people around the world .”
The country’s adoption of bitcoin as legal tender has also helped boost its GDP growth, according the president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele. After adopting the bitcoin law, El Salvador saw a double-digit increase in its GDP. Bukele tweeted Saturday:
El Salvador’s GDP grew 10.3% in 2021 … El Salvador never had a double digit GDP growth before 2021.
Furthermore, the Salvadoran president noted that El Salvador’s “exports (a main driver of economic growth) grew 13% this January, compared to January 2021.”
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Kevin Helms
A student of Austrian Economics, Kevin found Bitcoin in 2011 and has been an evangelist ever since. His interests include Bitcoin security, open source systems, network effects, and the intersection of cryptography and economics.
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