Hotels and other tour operators will have to collect and report more than 40 pieces of information for accommodation bookings and more than 60 pieces of information for car rental bookings.
From today, Tourists coming to Spain They will have to provide more personal data to the authorities. The information requested will include your home address and your relationship with children traveling in the same group. Data will be collected by hotels and holiday rental companiescampsites, travel agencies and car rental companies.
L.Spanish authorities confirm continued increase in checksThis regulation, which is part of a royal decree, is part of a wider fight against organized crime. However, hotels objected to this situation. introduction of regulationsclaims that it will negatively affect the visitor experience.
What additional information will tourists in Spain need to provide?
From 2 December hotels and other tour operators will need to collect and transmit more than 40 pieces of information for accommodation bookings and more than 60 pieces of information for car rental bookings. Guests are already required to send their full name, e-mail address and passport or ID number to the authorities. within 24 hours.
The new information includes payment details, home address, telephone numbers, number of companions and family relationships. The data will then be uploaded to a platform to be monitored by Spanish security forces. New measures apply in mainland Spain including and islands Balearic and Canary Islands. Companies that fail to comply will face fines of up to 30,000 euros.
Spanish hotels protest new data collection rules
Hoteliers demanded that the new decree be rejected or corrected. CEHAT, Spain’s main hotel association, has managed to postpone its launch, originally planned for January 2023. But apart from that, The group says they have not received any communication from authorities nor solution suggestions.
“We have been demanding dialogue and concrete offers for months.” “Despite these offers that guarantee legal security and the viability of the sector, we have not received any response,” CEHAT president Jorge Marichal said in a statement.
CEHAT announced that it is now considering taking legal action “Due to the negative impact this regulation will have on the hotel industry and travelers. Given this lack of political will, we are forced to propose legal avenues to protect both business owners and travelers,” Marichal added.
How will the new rules affect travelers?
CEHAT confirms that the new regulations will mean more complex and burdensome administrative procedures. will compromise the hosting experience visitors. Travel agencies claim that the procedures will affect people’s privacy and impose a bureaucratic burden they cannot bear. This may increase operating hours and therefore increase prices for travelers.
Association of European Travel Agents and Tour Operators (ECTAA) and Spanish travel agency group ACAVE He warned that “there will be serious repercussions on the tourism market” “The European Union and the protection of travellers’ personal data”.
What is the difference with other EU countries?
In other EU countries, hotels and other types of accommodation are also required to check guests’ passports or ID cards. In many countries such as Croatia, Italy and Germany, information including names, contact information and identification numbers must be reported to the authorities.
