Travellers to Spain need not worry about government's new data law

Travellers to Spain are not going to have to fill out tedious new forms, in reassuring news after fears a new data law would force tourists to submit more data before arriving.

Travellers will just be providing their names and passport or ID numbers as in the past, the government says, after industry fears the planned registration law would spell far more bureaucracy.

The number of travellers to Spain is growing steadily, with a record 64.3 million people visiting the nation's beaches, cities and mountains in the first eight months of the year.

Spain's new law aims to improve public safety and enters force in December, after being postponed due to fears about data gathering and protection.

It mainly affects accommodation, travel and car rental providers and the government says they need not worry about gathering floods of data.

The law regulates how tourist industry data is registered and transmitted, so it can be checked with police databases to better prevent and investigate terrorism or serious organised crime, the government says.

Tourism is a major industry in Spain, making up some 14% of its economic output, or 35% in the most popular areas such as Mallorca and the other Balearic Islands.