El Salvador made history on September 7 last year, when it became the first country to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender. Almost half a year later the country confirms that the decision was, indeed, beneficial.
According to official sources, the country’s tourism has increased 30% since the Bitcoin adoption, accomodating 1.4 million visitors in Q4 2021 instead of the expected 1.1 million. 60% of the tourists came from the United States, while before it was mostly neighboring countries of Central America.
The country’s tourism is one of its most important sources of income. President Nayib Bukele even recognized it as the second booster sector for 2022.
The statistic is especially good news for the government that has received some backlash from other countries after its crypto-friendly decision. Moreover, the country has started to benefit from foreign investors attracted by the unique Bitcoin opportunity.
It seems that the country is starting to prosper and that the BTC adoption turned out to be a beneficial decision after all. The Kingdom of Tonga has already followed El Salvador’s example and there are other countries, such as Panama, Paraguay, and Guatemala, that are considering the same trajectory as well. Maybe there is a new trend brewing among the governments and we will start seeing more and more countries legally adopt crypto in the future.
