Spanish tourism bodies have backed a lawsuit against the country’s government over new rules requiring hotels to collect personal data from tourists.
The Majorca Hoteliers Federation and the Aviba Association of Travel Agencies say changes need to be made to the traveller registration system, introduced on December 2 for national security reasons.
The president of Avila, Pedro Fiol, has warned that if the right changes are not forthcoming, « we will have no choice but to resort to legal action ».
The Majorca Daily Bulletin reports that Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has announced a consultation period on the measure.
This is due to end on Friday (December 13).
Mr Fiol says he wants a ministerial order to follow and correct « errors » in the registration system.
Idealista News reports that Spanish hotels have already requested guests’ ID cards or passport information.
But these new rules – which include passing family details, bank card information, and addresses to security services – are expected to be « the most stringent in the EU ».
The national confederation of hotel associations has argued that criminals will always find a way, despite the new checks.
The organisation’s president, Jorge Marichal, said: « Hotels are not police stations. Receptions are not border posts. And receptionists should not be interrogators trained in the secret services. »
Businesses must be registered with the Ministry of the Interior and report the data collected daily.
A digital record of the information must also be kept for three years.
Fines of between €100 and €30,000 (between £80 to £25,000) can be handed out for any breach of the rules.
Spain is the second most popular destination for tourists in Europe.
The country had more than 82 million visitors in 2023.
Of these, 17 million were from the UK.
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