El Salvador welcomes crypto-currency tourists to its country 
THE HOLIDAYS of the future have arrived! And some are on their way. Book a holiday from a multitude of travel agencies to El Salvador and other crypto-friendly countries for your first digital currency vacation. There are more than 300 million crypto users in the world and everyone is talking, if not thinking about it!
Bitcoin and American dollar economy
The Central American country which borders Guatemala and Honduras has made Bitcoin the nation’s official currency alongside the US dollar. One of the reasons its president Nayib Bukele introduced the crypto currency was because up to a fifth of El Salvador’s GDP comes from its citizens living abroad and sending money home. They were forced to pay exhorbitant transaction costs and about 70 per cent of them didn’t even own a bank account. Using bitcoin allows them to make cheap and quick payments across borders, and without banks.
Why El Salvador in depth
Tourism makes up a large part of the economy of El Salvador. It offers many natural attractions such as beaches, light tropical climate and beautiful landscapes for tourists. In 2017, about 1.5 million tourists visited the country. Check out this YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O17_GxdbMoo and find out more about how life is changing in El Salvado. If you are going to this amazing destination, check out ‘Bitcoin Beach’, also known as El Zonte, where crypto is legal tender. Its stunning beaches are a hotspot for surfing and a magnet for whales and turtles.
Countries queuing to go crypto
Hot on the heals of El Salvador are a number of other countries introducing crypto into their economies from Holland to Malta, Switzerland to Antigua and Barbuda, to name a few. Added to this,other businesses are dipping their toe into the digital market.
For example, see if you can recognise some of these grocery stores around the world using bitcoin and other digital currencies: USA Foods; La Vita Pazza; A Taste of Home; MannVen; Edmonton Grocer; Product of Italy; Charcu Pollo; and the list goes on.
You will need a ballet wallet
The first thing when you travel is you will need a ballet wallet. You can use credit or debit cards to buy crypto and deposit it into your wallet. There are many to choose from, but the one featured here is very straightforward to use. It needs no accounts, no passwords and doesn’t need to be maintained or electronically updated.
Bitcoin is just the start of it
It can support many crypto currencies on its app including: Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), all ERC20 tokens, XRP, Litecoin, BCH, Tether (USDT), USDC, TUSD, LINK, MKR, TRX, UNI, LEO, ATOM, CEL, DAI, FIL, AAVE, SNX, ZEC, YFI, COMP, ETC, SUSHI, OKB, GRT, UMA, DGB, OMG, NEXO, BAT, REN, PAX, 0x, BTG, KNC, REP, HEDG, MANA, SNT, CRV, NMR, BAL, BCD, GNT, STORJ, SPX, LOOM and a whole lot more.
Time to book your digital flight holiday and hotel
Once you have crypto in your wallet then it’s time to book your holiday. And there are lots of travel companies ready to accept your crypto. CheapAir was one of the first online travel booking sites to accept digital currency to book flights and hotels.
Others include:
- Bitcoin.travel – Like Orbitz and Expedia, they make comparisons on flights and hotels using different platforms. Most Bitcoin newcomers use this site. The global media company Forbes said of them: “Bitcoin.Travel has one of the most comprehensive lists of businesses that use bitcoin.”
- Expedia – is well-known in the travel industry for its reliability. Only drawback is that Expedia accepts Bitcoin for only hotel bookings.
- Surf Air – Offers a private air travel club membership – allowing you an “all you can fly service for a one monthly fee”. This site is for frequent business and leisure travellers.
- Berkeley Travel – This luxury London-based travel company promotes flexible pricing in a host of different currencies as well as Bitcoin. They have a reputation for looking after hotel transfers if your flight is delayed, make sure you have a room once you arrive, and can extend your holiday stay, if needed.
- Destina – travel company offers you a choice of Bitcoin or mBTC. You can use their app and they are available on Google Play. Search for flights, hotels, trains, cars, airport lounges, airport transfers – whatever you need. They also offer budget parameters for thematic trips like safaris, honeymoons and festivals.
ETravelSmart – India’s online bus booking portal that covers over 80.000 bus routes and accepts Bitcoins through a service called Unocoin. Use their app or call them and they will thank you with a small discount.
- Air Baltic – Great site for cheap flights, hotel bookings, and airport parking. Air Baltic’s website claims Bitcoins are free of the transaction fee, but only for basic airline tickets.
- Lot Polish Airlines – recently followed Air Baltic in taking crypto currency payments.
- WebJet Exclusives – first online travel agency based in Australia to accept Bitcoins.
- BTCtrip.com – No ifs or buts. BTCtrip offers special offers paid with Bitcoin. And, its website logo proudly boasts: “Flying with bitcoins!”
- aBitSky – on its homepage all its cheap flights and vacation deals are listed in Bitcoin prices.
- Virgin Galactic – If you are looking for an out of this world experience holiday, then Sir Richard Branson’s SpaceShipTwo will accept Bitcoin as payment.
Travel insurance old school
Don’t forget travel insurance. Though you may still have to get it the conventional way, as government’s are struggling to endorse it, and have not come up with the regulations they want to make it happen. Travel insurance is needed if you fall ill on holiday and need medical treatment. It’s useful in getting compensation if your holiday plans are delayed or cancelled, and if your suitcases go missing, get damaged or stolen.
Celebrate your holiday with a t-shirt
Once you arrive at your holiday destination, you might fancy sporting a t-shirt to show off your great achievement – for breaking new ground and going crypto. If it’s a Christmas holiday, then this one might be appropriate. Have a great holiday, and as always, we always welcome your feedback.
How legit is bitcoin and is it a lucrative business? Would I lose money in the beginning and is there a training that I have to follow in order to make it big in the industry? I have a few friends who are into bitcoin so I will be sure to share this article with them. Thank you for this well written article
Hi Daniel,
I really appreciate your feedback. I’ll look into those concerns. It might be worth putting a few lines into the post for those people who have misgivings about crypto.