Costa Del Sol Hoteliers Worried By New Etias Fees

Costa del Sol’s edifice manufacture is voicing its concerns complete a European Commission connection to summation nan European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS) interest from €7 to €20 for each application. 

According to nan hoteliers nan measure, planned to return effect by precocious 2026, is seen arsenic a imaginable rustle to nan region’s tourism competitiveness, peculiarly impacting families and middle-income visitors. Amid reports of less holidaymakers arriving to nan shores of nan Costa del Sol successful 2025, their concerns whitethorn beryllium justified.

The Malaga Province edifice sector, which agrees pinch nan Spanish Confederation of Hotels and Tourist Accommodation (CEHAT), does not outright reason a fee increase but calls for it to beryllium “more proportionate” and well-justified to nan mostly of holidaymakers who travel to nan Costa del Sol.

The projected hike, which astir triples nan original 2018 fee, has raised questions astir its proportionality, fairness, and method basis. CEHAT and Costa del Sol hoteliers criticise nan deficiency of transparency regarding nan system’s existent costs and nan absence of evaluations exploring different alternatives.

The ETIAS will require visa-exempt travellers from extracurricular nan EU (for example, nan UK) to get anterior authorisation to participate nan Schengen Area. While they admit that unafraid and businesslike borders are a priority, nan edifice manufacture warns that nan interest increase, mixed pinch rising taxes and accommodation costs crossed Europe, geopolitical instability, inflation, and higher operational costs, it could disproportionately impact definite groups that person been loyal customers of nan Costa del Sol for decades.

Costa del Sol’s hoteliers opportunity that nan connection makes reference to systems for illustration nan UK’s ETA and nan US’s ESTA but lacks a thorough capable study circumstantial to Europe’s operational needs. They request a elaborate effect assessment, including a breakdown of costs and information of replacement pricing models. What is more, they propose that immoderate surplus gross from ETIAS beryllium reinvested into nan tourism sector, peculiarly to amended infrastructure, unit training, aliases sustainable improvement projects.