The tourism sector in Mallorca and the Balearics, like elsewhere in Spain, is waiting for the official publication of a ministry of the interior order with regard to the controversial traveller registration system that was introduced on December 2.
Hoteliers, travel agencies, holiday rentals operators, car-hire firms hope that this order will reflect demands made during a period of consultation that followed the system's introduction. Central to the tourism sector's objections are the amount and type of data that have to be collected. The system has been criticised for being excessively bureaucratic and time-consuming, while it has been argued that the requirements breach data protection laws.
The Mallorca Hoteliers Federation and the Aviba association of travel agencies in the Balearics have made clear that if submissions they made during the consultation phase are not included in the order, they will take the Spanish Government to court. These submissions were generally in line with those of their respective national organisations, which have also threatened legal action. There will in fact be a further 15-day period following the publication of the order, which is imminent, so whatever it contains won't necessarily be definitive.
The hoteliers have no issue with the collection of data as has been required since the end of the 1950s. But the new requirements, in their view, "transfer investigation functions specific to the state security forces and bodies to hotel businesses". "This should be avoided, and we have stated this in our observations during the public consultation process."
The federation insists that the register must be respectful of European data protection regulations, pointing out that employers' associations at a European level have responded to the decree by which the system was introduced in arguing that it violates fundamental rights to data privacy.
Aviba and its national confederation have demanded that they be excluded from obligations set out in the decree. If not, the data requirements should be as limited as possible to enable the normal activities of a travel agency and tour operator. The travel agencies have stressed the need for "data minimisation and proportionality" in accordance with EU data protection regulations.
They have also requested specific exclusion from the new register of segments such as MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions), the Imserso subsidised holidays for Spanish senior citizens, student trips and group travel in general. Requirements in respect of these segments, they maintain, would be "totally disproportionate and excessively onerous for travel agencies, which are mostly small businesses".