The Spanish Confederation of Travel Agencies (CEAV) published a manifesto this week denouncing the new Real Decreto 933/2021 which came into effect earlier this month.
Using the FITUR travel tradeshow in Madrid as a platform for its message, CEAV condemned the legislation which requires Spanish accommodation and car rental providers to collect extensive personal and payment information of customers.
"CEAV considers that the Royal Decree violates current data protection regulations, and therefore its entry into force could lead to massive and illegal processing of personal data," it said in a statement.
"Additionally, Spain is the only country in the European Union that requires this communication of data from travel agencies, which reduces the competitiveness of our companies."
GEBTA, which represents travel management companies in Spain, hit out at the legislation in an article published by BTN Europe in December, while CWT branded it “prohibitive, disproportionate and, most concerningly, a data protection and privacy minefield”.
However, there remains confusion as to whether the royal decree applies only to domestic travellers or to international guests and car rental users too.