Brits have been warned that some tour operators will stop selling the Balearics because of the controversial new traveller registration system, according to a travel expert.
According to Pedro Fiol, the president of the Aviba association of travel agencies in the archipelago: “It is not possible to give so much data so far in advance.
“For example, when a company reserves a hotel to hold an event, it doesn’t know exactly who will attend. How is it going to provide more than 40 pieces of information in 24 hours if it doesn’t know who will be participating.”
Tourists visiting Spain will face more paperwork on their holidays, thanks to a new law that requires hotels and car hire firms to gather detailed personal information about their customers. The law – which applies to those over 14 – has been brought in to improve security in Spain and stop organised crime.
He referred not to large tour operators but to small ones that specialise in specific sectors – notably sports, conferences and exhibitions.
“The same thing happens with sports teams. These types of reservations are made months or even years in advance,” he continued, “based on forecasts, but these are not confirmed names”.
Losing these types of customers, Fiol warned, will be “very negative for the Balearic economy”, the Majorca Daily Bulletin reported.
“Their spending is higher than that of the average tourist and they come in the medium or low season, so they don’t contribute to generating the feeling of saturation.”
He stressed that data confidentiality carries a great deal of importance in Europe: “There is much sensitivity regarding data protection; Europeans are reluctant to provide it”.
Fiol added that the companies themselves will refuse – and are refusing – to provide client data, as this is competitive information that they fear could be stolen.
Other larger tour operators share the same concerns and believe that the requirements breach EU data protection law.
The new system crashed on its first day, causing chaos in the country.
Fiol also explained that it is now possible to enter information but that, in many instances, it is being blocked when the process comes to an end and is lost. Providers then have to go through the whole process again.
One response by travel agencies, not just in the Balearics, has threatened withdrawal from the Imserso programme of government-subsidised holidays for Spain’s senior citizens.
For the hotel sector, the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation said the requirements represent “a very high level of legal uncertainty” due to the “interference in the privacy of the client and processing of personal data that enjoy a high degree of protection”.
“Spain is the only country in Europe with this type of demand and the government has been warned about overstepping the boundaries and of the potential damage,” the federation said, highlighting the intrusion into privacy and the risk of possible data leaks.
The responsibility for these leaks would fall on those who have collected and communicated the data.
The interior ministry has established a consultation period that ends on December 13. It remains to be seen if this consultation results in any revision, but for now, the ministry will continue to defend its arguments in the fight against terrorism and organised crime.