Bitcoin is driving a lot of tourism in El Salvador

Legalizing Bitcoin as a payment method is bringing a lot of tourists to El Salvador.

The legalization of Bitcoin as a payment method is drawing a lot of tourists to El Salvador. The government announced this on Twitter, citing figures from the World Trade Organization (WTO).

According to the figures, the South American country saw an 81% jump in tourist arrivals in the first half of 2022. A total of nearly 1.2 million visitors. El Salvador is thus one of the countries whose tourism sector has recovered best from the pandemic.

El Salvador introduced Bitcoin as legal tender in September 2021 — the first country in the world to do so. This is described as one of the reasons tourism in El Salvador has surged. The South American country is now known as "Hodlador".

"99,9 percent of the world had no idea where this country was. 98 percent probably didn’t even know it existed," said Bitcoin analyst Tone Vays on a YouTube podcast. "Now it’s definitely on people’s maps."

Celebrities from spaceflight visited El Salvador, and Bitcoin maximalists like Max Keiser and Stacey Herberst have registered their residence there.

The director-general of El Salvador’s Ministry of Tourism said in an interview that they expect 57,000 tourists for the summer vacation. The expected revenue: $60 million.

The downsides of Bitcoin legalization

Aside from tourism, results from the Bitcoin rollout have been mixed. Less than 5% of retail sales were done with Bitcoin.

Last year, thousands of citizens also protested in the streets against Bitcoin’s rollout. Meanwhile, there were mass technical problems with the Bitcoin apps and ATMs.

Also controversial: President Bukele trades crypto on his mobile phone — with public funds. Critics accuse him of undermining the separation of powers.

The U.S. and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have pushed back against his Bitcoin stance. Talks on loans in January 2022 fell apart. El Salvador still faces huge debt maturities for 2023.