Majorca companies slam Spain’s new ‘Big Brother’ registration system as ‘complete mess’ | Travel News | Travel

Dubbed the “Big Brother” system, Spain’s new traveller registration system has been the subject of widespread criticism from inside and outside the country.

Since its introduction in December, hotels, holiday rentals, travel agencies and car-hire firms have all been documenting failures to protect themselves against possible fines for non-compliance. 

Criticisms revolve around the amount and type of data that must now be collected from tourists who arrive in Spain. It replaces a system that was in place since the 1950s, which only required a photocopy of a guest’s passport or ID card to the police. 

The online system itself has not escaped the criticism, which crashed when it first became operational and has continued to suffer from network faliures. 

Maria Gibert from the Habtur holiday rentals association described the system as “a complete mess”, according to the Majorca Daily Bulletin: “When you’re able to get into the system, it collapses. But the main problem is that you can’t get in unless it’s five in the morning.”

As a result of repeated problems, employers such as the Mallorca Hoteliers Federation have recommended that all issues are logged. 

Alongside these operational issues, the system has also been described as incredibly inconvenient for both companies and customers. 

Due to the vast amount of infomation required, such as full names, occupations, addresses, personal phone numbers and credit card details, the time to check in at hotels has increased. 

Some customers continue not to understand why they are required to supply certain information and there have been cases of individuals refusing to give it. 

The Balearic tourism ministry has sided with hotels and other industries, expressing concern about violations of data protection law in particular. 

Many travel agencies have appealed to the European Comission and have called for a precautionary suspension of the Big Brother system, which is currently under consideration. 

“It shouldn’t have been put into operation without having been sorted out first,” argued Pedro Fiol, president of the Aviba association of travel agencies.

He claimed Spain’s interior ministry is also not responding to complaints about the malfunctioning of the system. During the first stage of implementation, “they should at least provide us with information, attention and also financing, as there is an astronomical extra cost for companies,” he said.

“These seem to be anti-tourism measures designed to scare away visitors and divert them to competing countries.”

The new rules were initially supposed to come into force in October last year, but was forced to be postponed following industry backlash over privacy concerns.