Recall when Central American country El Salvador in September 2021, adopted Bitcoin as the country’s legal tender, as it was followed by widespread criticism.
There were several calls from experts and international bodies, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF), urging El Salvador to discontinue from using Bitcoin as its legal tender, stating that doing so will pose a serious challenge to the country’s economy.
However, it seems like the country’s adoption of Bitcoin as its legal tender seems to be paying off, as recently, El Salvador was included in the ranking of the World Tourism Organization, along with 14 other countries as part of the countries that experienced high tourist attraction from January to May this year. Only three countries in the Americas appeared on the list, Saint Lucia with 21, El Salvador with 6, and Mexico, with 3.
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Ecstatic about this news, President Nayib Bukele took to his Twitter profile to disclose that his adoption of Bitcoin as well as the crackdown on criminal gangs in the country, led to a spike in El Salvador’s tourism despite the bear market. He disclosed that his policy of adopting Bitcoin as the country’s legal tender is one of the major reasons why holiday-goers are choosing El Salvador as their desired destination.
See what he said; “Only a handful of countries have been able to bring their tourism back to pre-pandemic levels. The reasons behind it are mainly Bitcoin and surfing. But domestic tourism is growing even more, mainly due to our crackdown on gangs”.
Recall that President Nayib Bukele declared war against gangs in El Salvador, as his government has been hell-bent on pushing out violent crime from the country, despite critics claiming that his regime was violating the human rights of both prisoners and those suspected of gang membership.
His crackdown on gangs in El Salvador, has however witnessed unrivaled success, with the high rate of murder dropping to zero on consecutive days for the first time in several years. President Nayib did not fail to give himself a pat on the back, by stating that aside from the adoption of Bitcoin as the country’s legal tender, his crackdown on crime and gang activities in the country has also led to the increase of tourists in the country as they now feel safe coming to the country.
Contrary to reports from the Wall Street Journal that El Salvador’s bet on Bitcoin to attract tourists hasn’t worked, visits for the first half of 2022 almost outpace total visits in 2019. 1.1 million people visited the country in six months compared to last year’s total of 1.2 million.
Speaking in a recent radio interview, El Salvador’s Ministry of Tourism through its general director, Alex Bonilla disclosed that over the summer holiday period, the country can expect “57,500 international visitors”, which will generate $60 million in foreign exchange during this vacation, with the expectation that the tourist visit this year will beat the 1.2 million of last year.
It is interesting to note that lots of Bitcoiners have been constantly making trips to El Salvador since the adoption of Bitcoin as the country’s legal tender. Also, big shots and shakers in the Bitcoin ecosystem, fascinated by what is happening in the country, have also visited.
Tourists who are in support of the adoption of Bitcoin have been reported to spend more time in the country. Before the adoption of Bitcoin, there was a daily spend of $113 to $150, now it’s up to $200 a day. El Salvador’s tourism has grown up to 30% since Bitcoin adoption says the minister.