Spain's new traveler registration system, called the “Big Brother” system, has been the subject of widespread criticism from both inside and outside the country.
Since its introduction in December, hotels, holiday rentals, travel agents and car feed companies have all documented failures to protect themselves from potentially non-compliant fines.
The criticism revolves around the amount and type of data that must now be collected from tourists arriving in Spain. The police replaced the system that had been deployed since the 1950s, and only a copy of the guest's passport or ID card was required.
The online system itself has not escaped criticism. The criticism was first operated and crashed while continuing to suffer from network falsehood.
Maria Gibert of the Habtur Holiday Rentals Association described the system as “complete confusion,” according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin. Enter unless you're 5 years old in the morning. ”
As a result of repeated issues, employers such as the Mallorca Hotelies Federation recommend that all issues be recorded.
In addition to these operational issues, the system is also said to be extremely inconvenient for both businesses and customers.
There is an increasing amount of information required, including your full name, occupation, address, personal phone number, and credit card details, so check-in is increasing at hotels.
Some customers may not continue to understand the reasons why they need to provide certain information, and individuals refuse to give it to them.
The Balearic Ministry of Tourism has been allying on hotels and other industries, expressing concerns, particularly about violations of data protection laws.
Many travel agents have resorted to European contracts and are calling for a preventive suspension of the Big Brother system currently under consideration.
“They should not have operated without being sorted out at the beginning,” argued Pedro Fior, chairman of the Association of Travel Agents.
He argued that the Spanish Ministry of Home Affairs has also not responded to complaints about the system's malfunction. In the first phase of implementation, “companies have extra astronomical costs, so they need to provide at least information, attention and funding,” he said.
“These seem to be anti-tourism measures designed to scare visitors and detour them to competing countries.”
The new rules were originally supposed to come into effect last October, but were forced to be postponed following an industry backlash over privacy concerns.
