There has been growing discontent in European destinations around the proliferation of Airbnb properties and the disruption this brings to neighbourhoods.

Earlier this year, residents of cities including Rome, Florence and Milan sabotaged key lock boxes in protest against the rental property phenomenon and its tendency to drive up housing prices.

Now, the Italian government has brought in a ban on the self-check-in system citing “public order and safety risks”.

This means guests staying in rental accommodation in Italy, like Airbnb or Booking properties, must now be met in person on arrival by the owners.

Italy bans key boxes for holiday rental properties

The ban on key boxes and keypads was signed off on 18 November and was effective immediately.

However, police and local authorities have only just begun notifying rental platforms and property owners, according to Italian media.

The rule applies to all types of short-term tourist accommodation such as Airbnb and Booking rentals.

The measure was introduced to “prevent public order and safety risks in relation to the possible accommodation of dangerous individuals or those linked to criminal or terrorist organisations”, the Italian interior ministry said.

“The automated management of check-in and entry to a property without visual identification of guests” means there is a risk it “could be occupied by one or more individuals whose identities remain unknown to the relevant police authorities posing a potential danger to the community,” the statement added.

The ministry said the ban was introduced in response to the “intensification of the phenomenon of short-term rentals” resulting from “the numerous political, cultural and religious events scheduled in the country”, including the 2025 Jubilee celebrations in Rome.

What does the ban mean for travellers?

The new ruling means guests can no longer check in to properties independently, such as being provided with a key code to open a lock box.

Instead, rental owners or managers will need to meet guests in person to confirm identity documents and handle the check-in procedures.

Guests’ personal details and identity documents must be sent to police authorities by owners within 24 hours of check-in.

Roberto Gaultieri, the mayor of Rome, praised the ban as “good news for everyone” and welcomed the end of “the padlocks and boxes that disfigure our streets and prevent adequate security checks”.

He added that he intends to bring in “suitable intervention methods” to remove all these kinds of devices.

Every passenger entering Mexico by cruise ship may soon be charged a $42 tax (€39.90)  – whether they disembark or not.

The law is the latest effort to curb overtourism in the country. Historically, Mexico’s tourist taxes have targeted hotel visitors, while cruise ship travellers who are deemed ‘in transit’ have been exempt.

Announced after a vote by Mexico’s congress, two-thirds of Mexico’s proposed cruise passenger tax would be used to fund the Mexican army.

The law, which would apply from 2026, still needs to be approved by the upper house. However, the tax, which is being called an ‘immigration document payment for foreign passengers,’ is expected to help cover the country’s enormous budget deficit.

Who will be affected by the new cruise passenger tax in Mexico?

The Mexican ports of Cozumel, Costa Maya and Cabo San Lucas are popular stops for Caribbean cruises, particularly for ships departing from Florida, Texas, and Los Angeles.

The fee is likely to be added to passengers’ total cruise ticket cost rather than absorbed by cruise companies.

Over 10 million passengers visit Mexico by cruise ship every year, with 3,300 cruise ship arrivals predicted for 2025, according to the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA).

The port of Cozumel receives more than half of all Mexico’s seafaring passengers and is dubbed the ‘cruise capital of the world’: It welcomes around four million cruise passengers per year, making it one of the world’s busiest ports.

Some Mexican states, such as the Quintana Roo ports, will already start charging cruise passengers a $5 (€4.75) tax from 1 January 2025 to fund a National Disaster Prevention Fund. Therefore, under the new law, cruise passengers in this region would need to pay a total tax of $47 (€44.69).

While most travel passenger taxes go directly to improving infrastructure, such as port facilities or implementing more sustainable fleets, it is not clear why the new Mexico tax is being earmarked for the country’s defence department – however, the Mexican army has previously built railways within the country.

The cruise ship industry is against Mexico’s proposed immigration levy

Many of the major industry players warn that these new charges will deter ships from docking in Mexico and instead opt for cheaper Caribbean cruise destinations.

Jamaica is one possible alternative: despite already charging a $20 (€19.01) tax per passenger, it’s still competitively priced.

“If this measure is implemented, it would make Mexican ports of call among the most expensive in the world, severely affecting their competitiveness with other Caribbean destinations,” the Mexican Association of Shipping Agents said in a statement.

Likewise, a public letter from the Florida and Caribbean Cruise Association (FCCA), which represents 23 major cruise lines, said that it would make Mexico 213 per cent more expensive than the average Caribbean port.

The FCCA stated that the tax is making them actively consider “significantly altering itineraries”.

This is no idle threat – almost two decades ago, the cruise industry repositioned ships and rerouted itineraries to avoid a hefty ‘head tax’ imposed at Alaskan ports.

The tax “could also jeopardize the cruise industry’s investments in the country, including billions in planned developments and other projects,” the FCCA cautions.

Cruise company Royal Caribbean International, for example, is planning to open a private beach club in Cozumel in 2026, followed by a water park attraction called Perfect Day Mexico in 2027 near the Costa Maya cruise port.

Mexico is one of several countries to introduce cruise initiatives amid overtourism concerns

The number of global ocean cruise passengers is on the rise. The Caribbean, Bahamas, and Bermuda are the most popular cruise destinations.

In 2023, there were 31.8 million passengers worldwide – but that number is estimated to reach 39.4 million by 2027, according to Statista.

Several popular cruise destinations in Europe have introduced fees to tackle overtourism, including Amsterdam, and the Greek Islands of Mykonos and Santorini during the summer months.

An increasing number of Caribbean countries, including the Bahamas and Barbados, have already implemented passenger departure taxes to fund environmental and sustainability goals.

Starting today, tourists arriving in Spain will have to provide more personal data to authorities.

Information requested will include home address and their relationship to children travelling in the same party.

Data will be collected by hotels, holiday rentals, campsites, travel agencies and car rental companies.

Spanish officials say the increased checks, part of a royal decree, are part of a wider crackdown on organised crime.

However, hotels have been protesting the introduction of the rules saying it will negatively impact the visitor experience.

What extra data will tourists in Spain have to provide?

From 2 December, hotels and other tourism operators will have to collect and report over 40 pieces of information for accommodation bookings and over 60 for car rental bookings.

They are already required to send the full name, email address and passport or ID number of guests to authorities within 24 hours.

New information includes payment details, home address, phone numbers, the number of guests in a party and family relationship details.

The data will then be uploaded onto a platform which will be monitored by Spanish security forces.

The new measures apply to mainland Spain and its islands, including the Balearics and the Canary Islands.

Businesses which do not comply face fines of up to €30,000.

Spanish hotels protest new data collection rules

Hoteliers have been calling for the new decree to be dismissed or watered down.

CEHAT, Spain’s leading hotel association, succeeded in postponing its introduction, which was originally slated for January 2023.

But other than that, the group says they have received no communication from the authorities or offers of solutions.

“We have been requesting dialogue and concrete proposals for months to guarantee legal security and the viability of the sector, but we have not received any response,” Jorge Marichal, president of CEHAT, said in a press release.

CEHAT has now said it is considering legal action due to the “negative impact that this regulation will have on the hotel sector and travellers themselves”.

“Given this lack of political will, we are forced to propose legal avenues to protect both business owners and travellers,” added Marichal.

How will the new rules impact travellers?

CEHAT says the new regulations will mean more complex and tedious administrative procedures, compromising visitors’ accommodation experience.

Travel agencies have said the procedures will impinge on people’s privacy and add a bureaucratic burden they cannot afford.

This may increase working hours and, as a consequence, push up prices for travellers.

The European Travel Agents’ and Tour Operators’ Associations (ECTAA) and Spanish travel agency group ACAVE have warned about “severe repercussions for the European tourism market and the protection of travellers’ personal data”.

How does this differ from other EU countries?

In other EU countries, hotels and other forms of accommodation are also required to check guests’ passports or IDs.

In several countries, including Croatia, Italy and Germany, information including names, contact details and ID numbers must be reported to authorities.