A new law that will go into effect Oct. 1 throughout Spain, established by Royal Decree 933/2021: requires private landlords, hotels and camping facilities to collect and report to the Ministry of Interior sensitive data from travelers, including payment methods, financial transactions, credit card numbers, contract details and personal contact information.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, the law is necessary to increase public safety and prevent terrorist activities and organized crime. A measure that merchants in the industry consider “impossible” and a cause of “chaos and confusion.”
This law will apply to all tourists, both domestic and foreign, a rule that has caused dissent among those in the industry. The Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Lodging Facilities (CEHAT), which represents more than 16,000 companies and 1.8 million accommodations, has come out in strong opposition to the law, arguing its case.
The main concerns relate to the collection, storage and privacy of data, stressing that they will have to be carried out following a law that they consider “very deficient and impossible to enforce.” They also emphasize how the law could put Spanish companies at risk and put them at a disadvantage compared to competitors in other EU countries.
As a spokesperson for the Spanish Hotel Association stated, “There is widespread confusion about what data is required and how it should be submitted. The Royal Decree implies a significant interference in the privacy rights of tourists.”
Also the Spanish Federation of Campsites FEEC denounces the chaos: “Campgrounds, which have always cooperated with law enforcement agencies, have been faced with the surprise of having to provide unofficial data, which do not appear on any travelers’ documents (ID card or passport), such as payment method, credit card numbers, cell phone number, and address. As the FEEC has pointed out several times in recent months, this makes it impossible to send the data in an automated way, forcing manual registration and submission, resulting in an increase in errors and disproportionate work for those who have to provide this information “.
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