Owners of large and small businesses in this tourist enclave are trying to adapt to handling cryptocurrencies as a form of payment, while they hope that this measure will attract more tourism to the region.
“Let them know that it can be used here and being able to use it will open up more space and attract more people,” said César Andino, manager of the Los Robles shopping mall in Santa Lucía, referring to cryptocurrencies.
The “Bitcoin Valley” project has as its objective that initially 60 entrepreneurs receive training and adopt cryptocurrencies as a way to market their products, with the expectation that this initiative will gain followers in other nearby areas and spread to more businesses and communities.
The initiative has been promoted jointly by the Blockchain Honduras organization, the Guatemalan cryptocurrency exchange consortium Coincaex, the Technological University of Honduras and the municipality of Santa Lucía.
Rubén Carbajal Velázquez, a professor at the Technological University of Honduras, said that in Saint Lucia “their entire community will be educated in the use and management of cryptocurrencies (…) and generate crypto-tourism.”
While some Latin American countries are exploring the potential of cryptocurrencies, this type of currency also brings some risks.
In September 2021, El Salvador adopted bitcoin as legal tender, even having its own “Bitcoin Beach” in the city of El Zonte, a destination frequented by surf lovers.