PortAventura World's hotels open their doors to bitcoin

Could innovation be one of the ways for tourism companies to get back on their feet after the pandemic? In any case, that's one development strategy seemingly underway at PortAventura World. Starting next year, the Spanish theme park will offer visitors the opportunity to pay for their hotel stays in bitcoin.

As well as credit cards, cash and checks, the front desk of the six PortAventura World resort hotels will soon have another payment option available to guests, when bitcoin is added to the list. While you may have thought that cryptocurrency would never be a serious payment solution, that's exactly what it's set to become from 2022 at the Spanish park, located in the Barcelona area.

"We are deeply immersed in a process of digital acceleration with the aim of improving the experience of our visitors and continuing to promote new and innovative ways of entertainment," said David Garcia Blancas, Managing Director of PortAventura World, which saw around five million visitors a year before the pandemic. 

The theme park, which is one of the busiest in Europe after Disneyland Paris and Europa Park, will initially only accept bitcoin cryptocurrency, and only at the front desk of the resort's six hotels, which have a total of 2,300 rooms.

© Agence France-Presse