Tourism activities in El Salvador increased by 30% following Bitcoin (BTC) adoption

El Salvador’s Bitcoin law was dealt a major blow after the crypto market took a plunge in January. However, the law’s implementation is still carrying some benefits for the Central American country.

Since the law was implemented in 2021 and Bitcoin (BTC/USD) was adopted as legal tender, El Salvador’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has increased, and so has tourism activities in the country.

Tourism activities in El Salvador surge over 30%

Are you looking for fast-news, hot-tips and market analysis?

Sign-up for the Invezz newsletter, today.

The Minister of Tourism in El Salvador, Morena Valdez, has said that the tourism sector has grown by over 30% since Bitcoin was adopted as legal tender.

In an interview with a local news agency, Valdez said,

We did a poll to check the activity according to the before and after of Bitcoin. The tourism sector increased in November and December.

According to Valdez, the surge in tourism activity stemmed from the adoption of Bitcoin in the country. The official noted that most tourists were coming from the United States. Before the Bitcoin law was implemented, the highest percentage of visitors came from neighbouring countries. She noted that from the current tourist population, around 60% came from the US.

The rise in tourism activities has even surpassed the previous estimates by the government. The government had estimated to receive 1.1 million tourists, but this number has significantly grown to reach 1.4 million.

The forex sector has also grown due to the rise in tourist activities. Valdez said,

We had projected $800,000 in foreign exchange, but we obtained more than $1400 million of income in foreign currency.

The president of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, said that the GDP in the country increased by around 10.3% in 2021. The exports had also increased by 13% on a YoY basis.

El Salvador attracting foreign investments

The president of El Salvador is also looking towards boosting this GDP further. Bukele recently said that he would introduce 52 new legal reforms to make El Salvador a haven for investments.

Bukele also said that foreign investors would be fast-tracked to receive El Salvador’s citizenship. This was also promised to investors that took part in the country’s Bitcoin bond.