{"id":1675929,"date":"2022-09-22T03:34:40","date_gmt":"2022-09-22T07:34:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress-1016567-4521551.cloudwaysapps.com\/?post_type=station&p=1675929"},"modified":"2022-09-22T04:36:33","modified_gmt":"2022-09-22T08:36:33","slug":"how-bitcoin-atms-in-greece-fare-during-a-record-breaking-tourist-season","status":"publish","type":"station","link":"https:\/\/platodata.io\/plato-data\/how-bitcoin-atms-in-greece-fare-during-a-record-breaking-tourist-season\/","title":{"rendered":"How Bitcoin ATMs in Greece fare during a record-breaking tourist season"},"content":{"rendered":"
Greece is globally recognized<\/a> for its touristic lures of idyllic beaches and a laid-back lifestyle. Prior to the outbreak of the global pandemic, the World Travel and Tourism Council said that tourism generated over one-fifth of Greece\u2019s total GDP.<\/p>\n This year, the country faced a record number of travelers during its summer tourism season. In the month of August alone, the country received nearly 1 million travel arrivals per week, according to the Greek Minister of Tourism Vassilis Kikilias.<\/p>\n A report<\/a> from ForwardKeys on this year\u2019s summer tourism revealed that, of the top ten \u201csun and beach\u201d locations in Europe, Greece held six spaces. These included the island destinations of Mykonos, Thira (Santorini) and Heraklion (Crete), as well as Thessaloniki. Athens, the country\u2019s capital, took third place for \u201curban\u201d destinations in Europe.<\/p>\n In the 27 European Union member states, Greece takes the sixth spot in terms of cryptocurrency ATMs<\/a>, with 64 active for usage. Over half of Greece\u2019s crypto ATMs are shared between Athens and Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n However, the Bitcoin ATM operator BCash strategically placed some of its ATMs in the country\u2019s trendy island destinations of Mykonos, Santorini and Crete. Cointelegraph spoke with the managing director and co-founder of BCash, Dimitrios Tsangalidis, on how crypto is impacted by or itself impacts the tourism season in Greece.<\/p>\n Although Mykonos and Santorini are the most visited tourist destinations, the mainland ATMs have the majority of traffic, according to\u00a0Tsangalidis \u2014 especially central Athens, where the first ATM was installed, and Thessaloniki.<\/p>\n However, the co-founder noted that in Crete, the country\u2019s most populated island and a popular tourist destination, there is a “very loyal cryptocurrency crowd.”<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a strong crypto community in Heraklion of Crete [which is] the location of one of our ATMs.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n In Heraklion, the capital of Crete, the local start-up accelerator H2B Hub made a collaboration with the Greek-speaking University of Nicosia to create and support a local blockchain community.<\/p>\n