Key facts:
According to official figures Bitcoin attracted a million and a half visitors, 60% from the US.
Nayib Bukele announced new reforms to facilitate private investment in El Salvador.
Almost a million and a half visitors have received El Salvador since Bitcoin became legal tender. This was confirmed this Monday by the Minister of Tourism of the Central American country, Morena Valdez.
In a official publicationValdez said that expectations were exceeded regarding the economic and visitor impact that Bitcoin would attract for the tourism sector in El Salvador. According to the information, the arrival of 1.1 million tourists was expected, but the figure reached 1.4 million between November and December 2021. More than half of the tourists (60%) came from the United States.
In percentage terms, growth is greater than 30%. In addition, the tourist movement in these months provided a income of USD 1,462 million, according to the official. “The implementation of Bitcoin benefited the sector. More tourists and investors have come to see how cryptocurrency works,” said Minister Valdez.
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The official note, published on the website of the Presidency of El Salvador, points out that the incorporation of Bitcoin as legal currency in that country is part of a strategy “designed to generate momentum for the economy in a sustained manner, in the long term.” term”. Tourism would be the first economic sector to show a positive result.
In an exclusive interview granted to CriptoNoticias at the end of November 2021, Valdez said that Bitcoin is the ideal tool to digitize the tourism sector in El Salvador. On that occasion, he pointed out that the main cryptocurrency is linked to the flagship tourism project of his management, known as Surf City.
«Being able to pay with a currency that is not physical is a great advantage, everything can be done and it is essential to do more tourism. El Salvador’s tourism sector is ready for bitcoin adoption,” Valdez explained. Recently, President Nayib Bukele announced a investment of USD 100 million to improve the infrastructure of the beaches that are part of the Surf City project.
The GDP of El Salvador could be the one that grows the most in 2022 according to Max Keizer
Journalists Max Kaiser and his wife Stacy Herbert, who are based in El Salvador, referred to the growth of tourist activity in the country, as a result of the legal circulation of Bitcoin. In its podcast«Keizer Report», pointed out that tourism grew more than 100% in 2021, compared to the previous year.
Stacy Herbert said that today El Salvador is visited by many foreign tourists, who previously only came for the surfing competitions. “Now they do it every week; wishful people to see with your own eyes everything that is happening with Bitcoin“, said the communicator.
In Keiser’s opinion, the projections that indicate that tourism in El Salvador will grow another 50% in 2022 fall short. “I think those calculations are a bit conservative and that growth will go back to 100%,” said Keizer, who is also a former US stockbroker. In addition, he believes that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the Central American country can become the fastest growing in the world at the end of this year.
Bukele seeks reforms to facilitate private investment
Meanwhile, President Nayib Bukele ad via Twitter that would send 52 legal reforms to Congress, which seek to “reduce bureaucracy and create tax incentives” to attract more private investment. The reforms would cover sectors such as “new securities laws, stability contracts,” among others.
The president pointed out that the reforms include a rule referring to offer foreign investors Salvadoran citizenship in exchange for investments. “The plan is simple: as the world falls into tyranny, we will create a haven for freedom,” says Bukele’s tweet.
It should be noted that Bukele first mentioned the initiative to offer immediate permanent residence to Bitcoin entrepreneurs, in June 2021. As CriptoNoticias reported, at that time he also mentioned that there would be no capital gains tax for Bitcoin, among others. incentives.
