The Spanish Tourism Board is calling on the government to suspend the entry into force, on 1 October, of the amendment to the Royal Decree requiring documentary registration in accommodation and motor vehicle rental “given the impossibility of compliance with the rule for tourism companies and potential conflict with the Data Protection Act”.
“We understand that the Ministry of the Interior and the Police need control mechanisms to fight crime and terrorism, but this is no argument for demanding by decree that thousands of companies be thrown into administrative chaos and the uncertainty of whether they will be fined when it is impossible for them to comply with the new obligations of documentary registration of travellers,” says Carlos Abella, secretary general of the tourist board.
In his opinion, the update of this Royal Decree obliges accommodation companies, car rental companies and intermediary tour operators to provide customer information telematically with an excessive level of detail, also providing for penalties of up to 30,000 euros in case of infringement. All this in addition to “cumbersome booking procedures”.
The tourist board warns that many travellers will be reluctant to provide certain personal details and will opt for other international destinations, with the consequences for Spanish tourism.
Moreover, taking into account that personal data and sensitive information is handled, from contact emails to bank cards, “there is a high risk of a clash with the Data Protection Act, which is a very strict regulation in Spain”.
“It is incomprehensible that the government does not listen to tourism professionals and entrepreneurs, those who are involved in the real day-to-day dynamics, and that it imposes without any consultation a regulation that impacts them and their customers,” said the secretary general of the tourist board, criticising the “repeated insensitivity towards the driving force of the Spanish economy”.
Joining all the sectoral organisations and employers’ associations that have voiced their complaints in recent weeks, the board has launched a last urgent appeal to the Government to reconsider the regulation, revoke the updated Royal Decree and sit down to talk with the private sector to find alternative and viable solutions.