Bitcoin is attracting a new segment of tourists interested in digital culture and innovation in the crypto/blockchain industry to El Salvador.
According to El Salvador's tourism minister, Morena Valdez, more than 1 million tourists have visited the country so far this year.
The figures, when compared to those of the same period in 2022, show a 42% growth in the number of foreign visitors, Valdez said.
Many of the tourists that El Salvador has welcomed this year, according to Valdez, were motivated to visit the Central American country by the new policies it has implemented in terms of security, the development of sports activities and the adoption of Bitcoin, declared legal tender in El Salvador in September 2021.
El Zonte, a destination for surfing and Bitcoin lovers
El Zonte beach is located in El Salvador, one of the favorite destinations for surfers from all over the world and also the “Bitcoin capital” in the country. One of the first digital economies based on BTC was born on this beach and surfing center. The Bitcoin Beach project promotes the use and adoption of cryptocurrency among residents, as an alternative to access financial services and encourage tourism.
At El Zonte beach, all workers, most of whom do not have bank accounts, receive their salaries in Bitcoin, making the place a pioneering destination for both surfing and the use and adoption of cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin boosts tourism in El Salvador
Last year, El Salvador's president, Nayib Bukele, revealed that since the implementation of the Bitcoin Law, tourism in the country had recovered by 30%. In March of this year, the Salvadoran president highlighted that tourism had grown by up to 95% since the legalization of Bitcoin as a currency.
According to Bukele, part of the recovery that the country's tourism sector has experienced since the Covid pandemic is due to the opportunities offered by Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency and as a technological innovation.
Bitcoin offers tourists a more inclusive, accessible, secure and intermediary-free payment alternative, eliminating the need to use currency conversion platforms and foreign currencies.
In addition to this, Bukele recently said that El Salvador will soon launch the long-awaited Bitcoin bonds.
In recent statements on Twitter, Bukele highlighted that bitcoin bonds will be new investment instruments with which the country will raise capital to finance the construction of Bitcoin City and, in addition, will change the perspectives that investors and other governments have about the country.
Continue reading: El Salvador announces a professional training program for Bitcoin developers
