The new rule applies to both domestic and foreign tourists. However, hoteliers are not impressed and have called on the government to scrap it. At the moment hotels and apartment blocks make a copy of your passport or identity card which is then handed to police.
But the new law goes even further with sensitive information such as credit card numbers, bank account details and personal addresses and telephone numbers, being required by the police. The Spanish Ministry for the Interior has said that they wanted to know who and when were staying in hotels and apartment complexes across the country.
Hoteliers say that it will add to the already heavy work-loads of their staff. In Mallorca meetings have already taken place between the authorities and the hotel industry.
Critics say that it is “Big Brother” legislation which could mean that tourists go elsewhere because they are unwilling to part with their sensitive information.
