Spain’s interior minister, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, has introduced a new registration law that requires extensive personal data from tourists in Spain from 2 December. Travellers will have to provide up to 42 personal details when checking into hotels, renting holiday apartments, camping or renting a car, including bank account numbers, email addresses and telephone numbers.
This data will be transmitted directly to a central database of the Ministry of the Interior. Non-compliance is punishable by fines of between 600 and 30,000 euros.
Grande-Marlaska defends the law as a measure against terrorism and organised crime and emphasises that it also serves to protect minors. However, the Spanish data protection organisation AEPD and some members of the public criticise the fact that this regulation could lead to a surveillance state.
There are also major concerns in the hotel and tourism industry, as the law could lead to long waiting times and an increased workload. Long queues are looming at reception as the tight schedules. and inexperience of some staff will demand considerable extra effort. Given that over 80 million tourists visit the country annually, managing this influx will be challenging. Spain is the only country in Europe to introduce such a comprehensive regulation, which has also met with international criticism.