> Valdez noted that El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption has also impacted the flow of tourist visits, increasing the number of tourists coming from the United States. Prior to the Bitcoin law enactment, the majority of visitors was coming from neighboring countries in the Central American isthmus. Now, as many as 60% of tourists come from the United States...
Worth pointing out that El Salvador's tourism was double its "post Bitcoin" level in 2019, and the majority of 2020 visitors came from neighbouring countries in Central America because international flights were banned for half the year. Almost like Bitcoin isn't a major driver in recent tourism trends
I don't doubt that some tourism is a result of Bitcoin (and that shouting about Bitcoin could definitely be net positive in the short run for a smaller country competing for tax-exile dollars), but we have much better data on the 1/500 of the government budget lost on a speculative investment and El Salvador's increased borrowing cost, and whilst those aren't El Salvador's only problems they're quite big numbers to make up from people seeking the novelty of paying for their cheap beers and beach huts with apps linked to their Bitcoin wallet.
> Valdez noted that El Salvador’s Bitcoin adoption has also impacted the flow of tourist visits, increasing the number of tourists coming from the United States. Prior to the Bitcoin law enactment, the majority of visitors was coming from neighboring countries in the Central American isthmus. Now, as many as 60% of tourists come from the United States...