- This statement was made by President Bukele in an interview.
- He also noted the growth of private investment in projects in El Salvador.
- Earlier, the IMF admitted that bitcoin risks in the country did not materialize.
In the fall of 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to legalize bitcoin. Over the past months, a new infrastructure has appeared in the country, thanks to which you can even buy fast food from a street vendor with cryptocurrency. Which, quite naturally, spurred the development of tourism.
El Salvador’s president, Nayib Bukele, pointed this out in a recent interview with Tucker Carlson Today. According to the politician, over the past year and a half, tourism in the country has grown by 95%.
This is a noticeable increase even against the background of the value for February 2022. Then, after three months from the date of legalization, this figure increased by 30%.
The country was visited by 300 thousand people more than the predicted value. And 60% of them came from the USA. But if the February surge in tourism can be explained by the “newness effect”, then the value announced by Bukele is showing a steady increase.
This is easily explained by the fact that in the rest of the world the level of adoption of cryptocurrencies remains low. At the same time, El Salvador offers not only the opportunity to pay for purchases in cash, but also picturesque nature, low prices and a developed service sector.
Also in an interview, Bukele mentioned another, no less important advantage – private investment. Conferences, meetups and events attract large traders to the country who are ready not only to spend, but also to invest in the development of El Salvador.
The country’s experiment was certainly a gamble. But given that even the IMF admitted that these risks did not materialize, it turned out to be successful.
