In a world tending towards red candles, ELSL is in the green. And not even government officials seem to believe that any of these has to do with the Bitcoin Law. The increases are not crazy, but the upward tendency is clear. The advancements in tourism, private investment, and construction are a testament to El Salvador’s consistent growth. However, the bitcoin network plays a bigger part in this story than ELSL’s officials give it credit for. 

And Bitcoinist is here to make the case.

ELSL Received More Than 500K Tourists In Q1 2022

According to El Salvador In English, “During the first quarter of this year, El Salvador received 521,000 tourists who left income of more than $352.7 million, said the president of the Central Reserve Bank, Douglas Rodríguez, in a television interview.” That sounds like a lot, but, how does it compare to other years? “That figure represents 165% more than the country received in the same period of 2021, when 197,000 tourists entered and spent $235.6 million.”

The publication also quotes Douglas Rodríguez saying:

“Tourism becomes another source of additional income for the production of goods and services that a country has. The numbers confirm that the country is transforming, security gives it the attraction that tourists need.”

Security is surely a factor, but, is the implication here that the fact that El Salvador is Bitcoin Country is not attracting tourists? Bitcoinist collects “From The Ground” reports from bitcoin tourists to ELSL. And bitcoiners love to spend bitcoin, so they surely have something to do with that “left income.” And they spent the hardest currency on earth while in ELSL, not some flimsy colored papers.

BTC price chart for 06/04/2022 on EXMO | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

In 2021, Private Investment Reached Record Numbers

Considering the Bitcoin Law went into effect on September 7th, 2021, it might not have much to do with these impressive investment numbers. However, can we claim bitcoin had no effect whatsoever? This time, El Salvador In English quotes “a report published by the Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development.” As it turns out, “private sector investment reached 18.4% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2021, the highest since 1960.” 

In total, “investment reached $5,291 million in 2021.” Again, how does that number compare to other years? Well, “an increase of $1,441 million compared to the previous year, when invested capital accumulated 15.7% of GDP.” The publication highlighted three factors that fueled the private investment increase:

1.  “The effect of the pandemic, since some investments planned for 2020 had to be delayed until 2021.”
2. “The recovery of exports, imports, and remittances, which set records throughout last year” 
3. “The impact of the construction permit backlog, which had been paralyzed since 2017.”

The third one seems pretty influential. And fine, maybe it’s not a top three factor, but, no bitcoin here? Isn’t bitcoin at least partially responsible for remittances setting “records throughout last year”? Isn’t bitcoin attracting at least a small portion of private investment to ELSL? The Bitcoin Law went into effect on September 7th, but President Bukele announced his intention to make bitcoin legal tender on June 7th. Is the implication here that no bitcoin entrepreneur saw this as an obvious signal to move operations to ELSL?

Investing Billions And Constructing Luxury Hotels

The Invictus Investment group committed to investing $1.2B and “build five five-star hotels in the center and eastern parts of the country, El Salvador’s ambassador to the United States, Milena Mayorga, announced yesterday at a press conference.” This is according to El Salvador In English, who quotes the ambassador saying:

“There is a commitment of $1,200 million, that’s almost two points of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We are working to attract investment and operations of companies that generate opportunities and jobs that we still need”

Perfect, but, no bitcoi… actually, there’s a mention of bitcoin in this story:

“In addition to interest in the hotel and lodging industry, the business mission contemplates investments in a film production studio that is part of a commitment by the actor, director, and producer, Daniel Baldwin, as well as in renewable energies, aeronautics, bitcoin mining, and other areas in which diaspora entrepreneurs are also interested.”

Yes, the implication here is that even the Baldwin family is interested in bitcoin somehow. 

Anyway, Bitcoinist is not claiming ELSL’s growth is all because of bitcoin. There are clearly great policies being implemented all around, but… the Bitcoin Law certainly helped. And its influence will keep growing as bitcoinization sets in. 

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