Travelling to Spain? New rules in place

Since Monday 2nd December, foreign tourists must  provide operators of hotels, campsites and car rental services with information such as their identity, gender, home address, telephone number and means of payment, including expiry date of the card.

They must also indicate their nationality, e-mail address and the number of people taking part in the trip, including details on the relationship with any minors travelling with them.

But don’t shoot the messengers… the tourism operators who are collecting your details are themselves being checked by Spanish authorities. Accommodation operators have to communicate the number of rooms rented and even how many requests for wifi have been made!

With these measures, the Spanish government is trying to strengthen the country’s security, in particular by more effectively combating terrorism and organised crime.

These rules linked to the Marlaska decree implemented by the Minister of the Interior, Pedro Sánchez, have in fact been in place since January 2023 but had not been applied until now. The initial period of adaptation was originally scheduled to end on 1st October but was extended to 2nd December.

Either way, the rules are now applicable, so if you’re thinking of a jaunt in Girona or a break in Barça… make sure you know your inside leg measurement 😉