Tourism Minister of El Salvador Reiterates Effect Bitcoin Has Had on the Sector

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Tourism in El Salvador up 30% since Bitcoin adoption, minister says

February 22, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele previously announced that El Salvador’s GDP grew over 10% in 2021.

El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin (BTC) as legal tender in September 2021 has triggered a notable surge not only for its gross domestic product but also for the local tourism development.

According to El Salvador’s tourism minister Morena Valdez, the tourism industry in El Salvador surged more than 30% since the adoption of the Bitcoin law in September 2021.

“We did a poll to check the activity according to the before and after of Bitcoin. The tourism sector increased in November and December. This increased by more than 30%,” Valdez said in an interview with the local news agency El Salvador News English on Monday.

Boom!

El Salvador’s tourism has grown by 30% since the Bitcoin Lawhttps://t.co/i8t6JRHD1a #ElSalvador #BitcoinLaw #bitcoin #bitcoininvestment #Abtc #tourism #BitcoinCity #blockchain #investments
— Mónica Taher ⚡️ (@monicataher) February 22, 2022

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 enforcement, the majority of visitors were coming from neighboring countries in the Central American isthmus. Now, as many as 60% of tourists come from the United States, she said.

The minister added that El Salvador’s tourism growth has exceeded the government’s expectations, reaching 1.4 million visitors instead of 1.1 million tourists.

“We had projected $800,000 in foreign exchange but we obtained more than $1,400 million of income in foreign currency,” Valdez stated.

The news comes shortly after Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele announced that El Salvador’s GDP grew 10.3% in 2021. The country's exports, a major driver of economic growth, have also increased 13% year-over-year in January 2022.

El Salvador’s GDP grew 10.3% in 2021.

And now its exports (a main driver of economic growth) grew 13% this January, compared to January 2021.

Are we looking at another double digit GDP growth this year?

By the way, El Salvador never had a double digit GDP growth before 2021. https://t.co/f9yMkPpLNJ
— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) February 19, 2022

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American Airlines partners with decentralized travel market Winding Tree

November 16, 2021 Coin Telegraph

airlines

The airline industry is still reeling from the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, which shut down the global economy and restricted travel.

Ethereum-based decentralized travel marketplace Winding Tree has announced a new collaboration with American Airlines that will allow select travelers to receive tailored booking options, opening up a potential new use case for blockchain technology.

Through the collaboration, American’s largest corporate travel buyers will have access to Winding Tree’s marketplace to book travel directly and receive “uniquely tailored and cost-efficient travel options,” the companies announced. Neil Geurin, who serves as American Airlines’ managing director of digital and distribution, said Winding Tree gives customers “provides a frictionless approach” to accessing travel accommodation.

Winding Tree said its marketplace accommodates all sorts of peer-to-peer connections for the travel and aviation industry. In addition to American Airlines, the marketplace has already secured a partnership with Air Canada, one of North America’s largest carriers.

American is the largest passenger airline in North America, having served over 95.3 million passengers in 2020. Passenger traffic peaked near 215.2 million in 2019 prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. In October, American announced a third-quarter net profit of $169 million, or $0.25 per diluted share, on revenue of $9 billion. Revenue rose 20% from the previous quarter.

#COVID19: we estimate that aviation industry passenger revenues could drop $252 billion or 44% below 2019’s figure.

See full analysis https://t.co/41uGPqcN8P #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/rOhJCvqjQZ
— IATA (@IATA) March 24, 2020

Airlines were ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic as governments locked down their economies and restricted both domestic and international travel. According to Airports Council International, the impact of the pandemic removed more than 1 billion passengers in 2020. Winding Tree co-founder Pedro Anderson said the pandemic created a “complete paradigm shift in travel” that has placed a premium on innovation.

In 2020, air transport technology provider Sita estimated that 59% of airlines were already piloting or researching blockchain technology solutions for their internal processes. As far back as 2018, it was estimated that 86% of aerospace and defense companies were planning to implement blockchain in the foreseeable future, according to Accenture.

Thailand to Develop ‘Cryptourism,’ Considers Issuing Utility Token

September 29, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Thailand’s tourism authority is considering creating its own utility token

September 29, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

The proposed TAT Coin will enable tourism operators to cash in on the popularity of cryptocurrencies.

The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is considering creating its own utility token to capitalize on the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies.

Named after the agency's acronym, the plan to launch TAT coin will have to navigate through Thailand's complex legal framework and regulations before coming to life.

The Bangkok Post reported today that the TAT is in discussions with the Stock Exchange of Thailand regarding its ambitions and how the transfer of value can be achieved without introducing the speculative aspects of trading.

TAT coin "would involve the transfer of vouchers into digital tokens that could help operators gain greater liquidity," according to the report.

Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT governor, said he values the potential that technologies like cryptocurrencies have to offer and believes it is a great opportunity for the Thai tourism industry to boost competitiveness in the short term by attracting cryptocurrency holders:

"We have to prepare digital infrastructure and digital literacy for our tourism operators in order to commence cryptourism as the traditional business model might not be able to keep up with the new changes."

The TAT’s long term ambitions would see them to partner with the local Bitkub exchange to develop a tourism platform featuring the TAT coin and possibly non fungible tokens. Although Thailand is among the first countries in Southeast Asia to enact cryptocurrency legislation, NFTs are not yet legal.

On Monday, the Thai government announced it would waive quarantine for vaccinated travelers in Bangkok and other nine provinces from November 1 onwards, in hopes to revive the economy, which has been one of the slowest in East Asia and Pacific to recover from the pandemic.

“The Thai economy will likely require a longer time to rebound owing to delay in foreign tourist return,” said Kiatipong Ariyapruchya, senior country economist of the World Bank for Thailand.

The World Bank released a report on Tuesday, further cutting Thailand's economic growth forecast in 2021, bringing it down to one per cent.

As Cointelegraph has reported, crypto assets offer an alternative solution to transform government services and promote economic growth in the region.

Two Major Hotels in Touristic Spanish City to Accept Crypto Payments in the Wake of Covid-19 Crisis

April 24, 2021 Bitcoin.com

Tourism

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