British tourists heading to Spain for some winter sun could have to hand over details of their bank cards, family relationships and addresses to hotels to pass on to security forces.
Under draconian new rules coming into force on Monday travellers to the Iberian Penninsula face what’s been dubbed a “Big Brother” style invasion into their personal affairs.
At present hotels just ask guests for their ID card or passport details, but under a new Spanish government decree businesses will be asked to hoover up up to 42 pieces of data from tourists.
According to the Telegraph, Spain’s hoteliers are fighting back against the edict, and Ramón Estalella, the secretary general of hotel associaiton, Cehat, told the paper: “It’s like ‘Big Brother’, it’s nuts and will cause chaos.
“Spain is already the only country in the EU where hotels must send guests’ ID info to the police, while in other countries they just have to keep that data for a period.
“Not only could it violate fundamental privacy rights, but it also threatens to complicate and hinder the experience of millions of visitors who choose Spain as a destination.”
Cehat has launched a legal challenge against the new Spanish law which the interior ministry has said is necessary to help police track down criminals operating in Spain.
The hotel organisation has cited Spain’s new rules could clash with the European Union’s existing GDPR data protection law, which can already impose heavy fines on firms deemed to have shared customer’s personal information without their consent.
But failure to comply with the new law introduced by Spain, which comes into force on December 2, also carries penalties, with companies threatened with fines of up to £25,000.
Fernando Grande-Marlaska, Spain’s interior minister, said 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.
Once collected the data is then transmitted to a central database of the Ministry of the Interior where it can be disseminated to law enforcement agencies.
Defending the contentious policy, Mr Grande-Marlaska has argued it is crucial for safeguarding public security against terrorism and related criminal activity.
A spokesperson for his office had previously stated: “The regulation respects the principle of efficiency, proportionality, judicial security and transparency.”