Chaos has broken out in Spain’s tourism sector, after a government web platform crashed, preventing hoteliers from registering their guests as required by a new law.
Under the terms of the legislation which came into force on Monday, businesses are required to provide the Ministry of Interior with more than 40 pieces of personal information for each tourist.
Businesses are obliged to use the government’s online SES.HOSPEDAHES platform to input the mandatory data.
If they fail to do so, they could face hefty fines ranging from €3,000 (£2,492) to €30,000 (£24,915).
However, the site crashed at 11.59pm on Sunday, seconds before the new legislation came into effect.
A message informing frustrated users that the website was not “accessible” repeatedly cropped up on computer screens around the country.
The president of the Aviba Balearic association of travel agencies, Pedro Fiol, told the Majorca Daily Bulletin: “It was chaos. It hardly ever worked during the test period.”
Aviba have advised members to take screenshots of their computers to prove they were unable to input the required data and therefore avoid being fined.
Fiol said the new regulations would deter visitors from travelling to Spain and lead to a loss of business for his members.
“It is disproportionate and has already had an international impact,” he said.
Some hotels have complained that it is taking them more than 15 minutes to input the data.
The new law has been introduced to beef up national security and help police combat terrorism and organised crime.
However, tourism and business leaders have criticised the law for violating the privacy of their clients and are considering mounting a legal challenge.
Sergio Garcia, president of the association of travel agencies of the Costa del Sol, told the Sur website: “This decree is nonsense and it is unreasonable that every time a customer wants to make a reservation you have to collect more than 40 pieces of data when this operation will then be repeated at the hotel reception or in the car rental if they go to rent the vehicle.”
The regulation violates the data protection law and the federation is looking into legal action against the Ministry of Interior, he added.
Andalusian regional minister of tourism Arturo Bernal added his own criticism, saying: “The new register of tourists violates the privacy of those who visit Andalucía, affects our tourist competitiveness and has been imposed without listening to the sector. We firmly reject it.”