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Murcia hoteliers slam new tourist registry as computer failures cause chaos

The new travel registry website crashed on the first day, leading to confusion and frustration across Spain

On Monday December 2, a controversial new regulation came into force across Spain requiring hotels, travel agents and car rental companies to collect dozens of personal details from their customers.

Well, after the opening day, the Spanish government is embarrassed and the tourism sector feels vindicated as the first 24 hours were marred by computer failures and confusion.

The dubious decree applies to the new travel registry, a requirement to collect much more private information from tourists upon check-in, all of which must be uploaded to the Ministry of the Interior via their dedicated SES.Hospedajes platform.

But this platform promptly crashed within just a few hours, causing frustration among hoteliers and travel agencies. Although the Ministry of the Interior assured that the platform was back up and running quickly enough, many establishments reported difficulties in uploading the required information.

Practically everyone involved in the tourist industry – tour operators, hotel owners, landlords, to name a few – have been vocal in their opposition to the new regulations. The list of criticisms is a long one, but it includes the increased work load, data protection concerns and a heightened risk of hacking.

From the customer point of view, many holidaymakers are worried that they’ll now spend an age standing at the check-in desk while the information is manually entered into the computer. As for large groups and travellers with foreign documentation, it remains to be seen how receptionists will handle the challenge.

"Today went well. We'll see what the receptionists think in three or four months," said a member of a group of travellers who had just arrived at the Barceló Murcia Siete Coronas hotel for a business convention.

But hoteliers have already reported difficulties in implementing the new regulations, with some establishments experiencing long delays in checking in guests.

“The application of the royal decree has had a negative impact on key aspects for our sector such as registration times and volume of operations, increasing exponentially," said María José Cabrero, director of the Pacoche hotel in Murcia city.

But beyond the bureaucratic burden, the opposition of the sector comes from the nature of this data and its lack of protection.

“We will be the perfect target for hackers,” says Bartolomé Vera, head of the Federation of Hospitality and Tourism of the Region of Murcia, HoyTú.

“They are forcing us to give information about the client that, with the Data Protection Law in hand, we should not have,” added David Blasco, president of the Regional Association of Travel Agencies (Amuravi).

The national travel agency association (CEAV) has published a letter to the Ministers of the Interior and Tourism, denouncing the “disproportionate rule” and calling for a review of the regulations. In the meantime, dozens of industry leaders have joined forces and are exploring what legal action they can take to get the tourist registry scrapped.

In other news: Pricey property: Experts predict house prices in Spain will skyrocket in 2025

Image: Freepik

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