Brit holidaymakers visiting Spain face new rules from next month

FURIOUS hoteliers across Spain are warning of “chaos and confusion” as a new tourism law could breach Brit holidaymakers privacy.

In just two weeks time, Brits arriving in Spain will be required to give a host of new details to their “landlord”, whether that be a hotel, or any other tourist accommodation.

Spanish hotels, travel agencies and vehicle rental companies must provide up to 18 extra details about tourists under the government rules which are due to come in to force from Tuesday October 1.

The Spanish government warned of the new rules some months ago.

The list of data which must be collected includes payment methods, contract details, home addresses, mobile phone numbers and email addresses of visitors.

However, Spanish hoteliers say there has been silence ever since, despite repeated requests for more information.

They said the collection of private data from incoming tourists was not legal and fraught with difficulties, citing a lack of manpower to do so.

The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT) contacted the Ministries of Tourism and the Interior and the General Directorate of the Police and the Civil Guard demanding a revision of the new rules.

CEHAT represents more than 16,000 establishments with a total of 1,800,000 places spread throughout Spain.

A spokesperson said: “There is widespread confusion regarding what data is required and how to submit it.

“It is impossible to automate the process and it would involve additional and disproportionate manual work for establishments and a considerable increase in errors.”

The Royal Decree issued earlier in the year indicated that there would be a subsequent development by ministerial order on what data should be provided by each of the tourism sub-sectors.

However, hoteliers have complained that new legislation does not exist, leading to widespread confusion surrounding what information would be required.

A CEHAT spokesperson said: “The hotel sector, which has always collaborated with the State Security Forces and Corps, was surprised to find that it had to provide unofficial data that does not appear in any of the documents carried by travellers (ID and passport) such as payment method, credit card numbers, and mobile phone number.”

The industry group said the Royal Decree implied a significant interference in the privacy rights of tourists as it did not offer clear safeguards to limit the mass collection of data.

They said: “The obligations imposed by the Royal Decree place Spanish companies, or those operating in Spain, present a clear disadvantage compared to competitors in other EU countries that do not have similar regulations.”

Maria Frontera, president of the Mallorcan Federation of Hoteliers, told iNews: “We demand that the government changes and reforms these rules and delays their enforcement until we have reached an agreement.”

Spain’s Interior Ministry has said the new regulations had been delayed repeatedly to give the tourist sector time to prepare.

The regulations are designed to help protect the public from terrorism and organised crime, a spokesman added.

A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said: “The regulation respects the principle of efficiency, proportionality, judicial security and transparency.

“It is justified for the general interest for the security of citizens against the threat of terrorism and other serious offences committed by criminal organisations.”

CEHAT said their establishments lacked technological adequacy to comply with the registration.

The said: “In addition to the difficulties mentioned, we believe it is relevant to highlight that the new registration and identification obligations represent an excessive administrative overload, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which constitute the core of the tourism sector.

“Implementing these requirements increases operational costs and management complexity.”