Mallorca cracks down on ‘illegal tourism’ as Brits threaten boycott | World | News

Majorca authorities say a major crackdown on people who rent out their second homes to tourists will help mobilize residential accommodation, as Brits threaten to boycott separate tourist registration rules.

Rental property rules, due to come into force in January, will require landlords renting out their properties for short periods to list them on a single register, with landlords unable to market that property on any digital platform (like Airbnb or Booking, and other real estate). portals and agencies), until they have registered and received a resistance number.

According to the rules, online portals will also have to display the number on booking pages.

Isabel Rodríguez, Minister of Housing and Urban Agenda, told government ministers at the Council of Ministers meeting on Tuesday that under this policy, “the land registry will be able to certify that the property complies with the local and national regulations, as well as the residents’ association approved that there can be tourist apartments in the block.”

The minister said the move would achieve two goals, uncovering any fraud and putting an end to illegal tourist accommodation and, in doing so, freeing up “a more residential rental housing stock”, according to Sur in English.

The move by authorities is apparently an attempt to ease growing public frustration over soaring rent and property prices.

Separate regulations introduced in December will require Spanish tourists to provide an expanded list of 43 pieces of information when checking into their accommodation, which authorities say will boost national security.

For car rentals, the number of data points required will increase from 14 to 64 per reservation.

Carlos Abella, secretary general of the tourism leaders’ organization Mesa del Turismo, says the updated royal decree forces accommodation and car rental companies, as well as intermediary tour operators, to provide overly detailed information on their customers telematically to the authorities, according to Majorca Daily. Newsletter. Companies could face penalties of up to 30,000 euros for violations.

This hasn’t gone down too well with many foreign sunseekers either, with a recent poll by Majorca Daily Bulletin, an English-speaking media outlet on the Belearic island, revealing that 85 percent of respondents said that they would be put off by the registration law.

One reader commented: “I generally think I have nothing to hide, so I don’t mind giving out information. However, there is a limit and it seems that the new regulations go beyond what I and most people would consider sufficient for the cause (of renting a room or a car).

“Yes, Spain will lose visitors if this becomes law because most people will feel like the country is becoming a police state and they don’t need this hassle while on vacation .”

Benidorm party organizer Frank, who goes by frankthestagman on TikTok, addressed the new rules in a video on the platform, saying that “as soon as you arrive at the airport” you will have to fill out a form and provide information about you. . Frank said much of the information you’ll need to provide will be “very personal.”

The information will include such things as email addresses, check-in and check-out times, relationship between visitors, home addresses, credit card numbers, banking details, phone numbers and whether guests had access to the Internet.

People in the comments suggested the rules had given them second thoughts about visiting Spain, with one writing: “This is really going to put a damper on a lot of people – too much hassle for a bit of sunshine .” Another said: “I won’t go. »

A third commented: “As much as we love Benidorm, and have for many years, unfortunately this will put me off. If more people feel the same way, tourist numbers will drop, which I fear.

Another said: “It’s a shame. We’ve been to Finestrat for the last two years (10 of us), and also passed through Benidorm. We were about to book again. We just discuss it, and we are not booking it now.”

The Spanish government has defended the new measures, arguing that the tougher requirements will improve security by allowing the Interior Ministry to monitor when and where domestic and international guests stay, helping to apprehend terrorists and organized crime groups. .

In an earlier statement, an Interior Ministry spokesperson said: “The regulation respects the principles of efficiency, proportionality, judicial certainty and transparency.”