A Queensland beach town has become Australia’s first holiday destination where tourists can pay for their trip entirely with digital currency.
The coastal town of Agnes Water, with its pristine beaches a five hour drive north of Brisbane, is set to cash on the digital currency boom by turning its primary industry – tourism – digital.
Everything from resorts, tours and restaurants, to the local pub and day spas can be paid for using using cryptocurrency.
The coastal town of Agnes Water in Queensland (pictured) has become Australia’s first holiday destination where tourists can pay for their trip entirely with digital currency
The coastal town of Agnes Water, with its pristine beaches a five hour drive north of Brisbane, is set to cash on the digital currency boom by turning its primary industry – tourism – digital
A billboard reading ‘Welcome to Agnes Water 1770, Australia’s first digital currency town’ sprang up near the town centre on Sunday with locals joking about ‘buying bait with bitcoin’
The coastal getaway boasts over 30 businesses which accept a range of digital currencies.
A billboard reading ‘Welcome to Agnes Water 1770, Australia’s first digital currency town’ sprang up near the town centre on Sunday with locals joking about ‘buying bait with bitcoin’.
Retailers across Australia, including Brisbane airport, have begun to accept digital currency since it became legal tender in July 2017.
Queensland start-up TravelbyBit rolled out its point-of-sale app to facilitate crypto payments in the town and throughout Queensland.
Over 30 businesses in the town accept a range of digital currencies from resorts, tour operators and restaurants, to the local pub and day spas (Pictured: local businessman)
The coastal town of Agnes Water, with its pristine beaches a five hour drive north of Brisbane, is set to cash on the digital currency boom by turning its primary industry – tourism – digital
The startup’s founder Caleb Yeoh – who has a passion for cryptocurrency – felt there was a need for regional communities to diversify.
Queensland start-up TravelbyBit rolled out its point-of-sale app to facilitate crypto payments in the town and throughout Queensland (Pictured: the startup’s founder Caleb Yeoh)
‘If you travel around the world you have to deal with multiple currencies, the exchange rate can be confusing, sometimes you struggle to find ATMs, and sometimes you get swindled by money changers,’ he said.
Mr Yeoh spoke of the potential digital tourism would have for the town who has the ‘digital traveller’ in mind.
‘People who use cryptocurrency … it’s a social movement and they believe in it, and therefore they support places who take it,’ he told the ABC.
‘So they would come to a place like this just because it takes digital currency.’
‘Five dollars in Bitcoin six years ago is now worth a few million dollars … There’s a lot of people with money in digital currency and a lot of them use this for travel. So this market is quite big,’ Mr Yeoh told the Gladstone Observer.
‘I think it’s the way of the future.’
‘People who use cryptocurrency … it’s a social movement and they believe in it, and therefore they support places who take it,’ he told the ABC
Queensland start-up TravelbyBit rolled out its point-of-sale app to facilitate crypto payments in the town and throughout Queensland (pictured)
‘Five dollars in Bitcoin six years ago is now worth a few million dollars … There’s a lot of people with money in digital currency and a lot of them use this for travel,’ Mr Yeoh said