Jurídicos y Administrativos

✈ 38 people died and 29 survived after a suspected attack on an Azerbaijani civilian aircraft, which Russian government denies despite skepticism in the West. The Embraer 190 crash site in Kazakhstan shows anti-aircraft munitions damage. Russia has been combating Ukrainian drones, potentially explaining the incident. Flight risks near Russia have been warned due to air defense threats. Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov and the Senate spokesperson of Kazakhstan urge against speculation during the ongoing investigation.

🎁 British tourists favor the Canary Islands and southern Spain for Christmas holidays, with mass travel to Spain until January 2 seeking warmer temperatures, ABTA reports. Main destinations include Spain, Portugal, Turkey, and Dubai; with the Alps and Scandinavia for traditional snowy settings, and Amsterdam, Budapest, and Paris for city breaks. Over 500,000 will depart from airports like Stansted and Manchester, Heathrow expects a 21% passenger increase on Christmas, while Birmingham and Bristol will handle 200,000 and 175,000 travelers, respectively.

🏦 In 2024, the tourism industry saw significant bankruptcies, including FTI Group with a nearly €1 billion debt to the German government. FTI Group's bankruptcy led to numerous creditor claims, with little hope for recovery despite clients being reimbursed. We-Flytour, a Turkish tour operator, also declared bankruptcy, affecting around 1,500 travelers, though packages were fully insured. Spirit Airlines entered bankruptcy to cut debt and survive in the market, and GOL sought Chapter 11 protection with a proposed $950 million bondholder financing.

🏖️ Barcelona City Council approved a new fiscal ordinance targeting tourism, with hoteliers accusing it of "criminalizing" the sector. The ordinance raises property tax for about 200 hotels by 17%, as well as for cruise terminals and Park Güell entries. Park Güell tickets increased by 80%, from 10 to 18 euros. Tourist buses now require a daily permit of 35 euros, plus additional fees in certain areas, totaling an increase from 20 to around 80 euros by 2025. The increases were supported by the left backing the PSC and opposed by Junts, Vox, and the Popular Party.

📍 In 2024, Booking faced a fine reduced from €486 million to €413 million for competition abuses. Ryanair, Easyjet, Vueling, Volotea, and Norwegian were fined €179 million for hand luggage policies. Wamos Air joined Abra Group, with its state aid of €85 million returned. Air Europa's €475 million government aid is under investigation. FTI declared bankruptcy in June, Hyatt invested €400 million for a 50% stake in Bahía Príncipe, and Lufthansa acquired Ita Airways. Iberia dropped Air Europa's acquisition. Ávoris lost Imserso contract and faced a penalty. Nautalia rebranded to Travel Live, integrating Mapa Group and Wamos Portugal, and Airbnb faces a sanction for listing illegal rentals.

✈ Aer Lingus flight from Edinburgh suffers landing gear failure at Belfast City Airport on Sunday, December 22. The aircraft was destabilized due to bad weather, but no passengers were onboard, and four crew members escaped unharmed. The incident caused a closure of the runway for the entire day, resulting in approximately 40 flight cancellations or diversions.

🚫 Partido Popular (PP) to present motions in all councils, provinces, and regional assemblies in December and January, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the reservation registry enforced since December 2. The PP criticized the law for creating legal uncertainty, overburdening businesses with administrative tasks, and violating tourists' privacy rights. The registry requires accommodation, car rental, and travel agencies to share clients' data with the Ministry of Interior. Failure to comply can result in fines up to €30,000. Real Decreto 933/2021, passed without industry consensus, requires over forty data points for accommodations and over eighty for car rentals.

🏖️ Barcelona's City Council has approved fiscal ordinances for 2025, including tax hikes for the tourism sector, affecting 208 hotels' property tax (IBI), cruise terminals, tourist buses, and Parque Güell admission fees. The Parque Güell entry fee will rise from 10 to 18 euros, while tourist buses will face increased charges from 20 to 80 euros daily. The current tourist tax remains unchanged at 4 euros, with potential legislative changes to increase the municipal surcharge. Fiscal ordinances received support from PSC, Barcelona en Comú, and ERC in December's plenary session.

🚨 Paris, from January 1st, further limits short-term tourist rentals to 90 days per year, reduced from the previous cap of 120 days. This move is due to concerns that such rentals affect the housing market negatively. Currently, there are 95,000 listings on Airbnb or similar platforms in Paris, mostly available during summer, with an estimated 25,000 illegally rented apartments facing potential fines. French legislation empowers mayors to make housing policy decisions locally.

🛈 The Spanish government confirmed in December that UK tour operators and travel agencies are exempt from new data collection regulations in Spain, as stated by the Spanish Tourist Office in London. The exemption is due to European data protection rules. The Spanish Tourist Office reassures that no additional information is required from travelers than what has been collected for the past fifty years, aside from a system update and mandatory data as per the Schengen Treaty. Only Spain-based intermediaries must collect the data.