El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender has triggered some notable economic benefits in the country, not only for the gross domestic product (GDP) but also for the tourism industry.
The head of the Ministry of Tourism (MITUR), Morena Valdez, said in an interview with local news:
“The implementation of bitcoin benefited the sector. More tourists and investors have come to see how cryptocurrency works.
We did a poll to check the activity before and after bitcoin. The tourism sector increased, in November and December, more than 30%.”
Noting that 60% of the visitors to El Salvador came from the U.S., the tourism minister added:
“Expectations of recovery in this sector have been exceeded since 1.1 million visitors had been projected and 1.4 million have been received.”
A statement on the government website noted that “it was possible to identify the advantages of having added innovation and financial freedom,” with the tourism sector being a large beneficiary. It also said that:
“Cryptocurrency multiplies the opportunities to do business with more partners anywhere in the world.”
Bitcoin as legal tender has also boosted the country’s GDP growth and exports, according to El Salvador’s Bitcoin president, Nayib Bukele. On Saturday he tweeted:
El Salvador’s GDP grew 10.3% in 2021.
And now its exports (a main driver of economic growth) grew 13% this January, compared to January 2021.
Are we looking at another double digit GDP growth this year?
By the way, El Salvador never had a double digit GDP growth before 2021. https://t.co/f9yMkPpLNJ
— Nayib Bukele
(@nayibbukele) February 19, 2022
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
The post Bitcoin Adoption in El Salvador A Powerful Boost for Country’s Economy appeared first on iGaming.org.
Source: Igaming
