Spain introduces the law against tourists: data collection causes excitement!

Spain introduces the law against tourists: data collection causes excitement!

Spanien, Land - In Spain, a new law causes excitement in the tourism industry. On December 2, 2024, the controversial royal decree 933/2021 came into force, which many referred to as "tourism big brother". Despite the considerable resistance, both from parliament and associations, it should prescribe hotels and other accommodations to record over 40 different personal data from tourists and to transmit them regularly to the authorities. The required information includes telephone numbers, email addresses and even details about travel past. According to the writing of the ECTAA, this data must be updated daily and saved for three years. If there is non-compliance, companies face fines of up to 30,000 euros, such as merkur.de

reaction of the industry and effects on tourism

The Spanish Hotel and Restaurant Association CEHAT already examines legal steps against the decree. Industry representatives express concerns that the new regulations could violate fundamental data protection rights and significantly impair travel experience for tourists. The travel industry is a crucial economic sector for Spain that makes up 12 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). In 2023, the country recorded 84 million foreign visitors, including 10.7 million Germans. In view of these record numbers, the new bureaucratic hurdles are particularly problematic because they could make the access process more complicated, such as Statista

At the global level, tourism has reached significant record heights since 2019, with 1.5 billion international trips before pandemic. In Europe, Spain in 2023 was one of the preferred travel destinations with around 80 million trips. This development makes the new regulations all the more worrying, since they potentially influence the travel behavior and the economy of one of the most important tourist centers in Europe.