Recent guidance has been provided by the Commissioner of
Personal Data Protection, upon receiving multiple enquiries and
complaints as to the practise of hotels and other touristic
establishments in Cyprus of copying and maintaining passports
and/or other identity card data of their clients during the
check-in process. It was noted that the said establishments do not
only obtain the data, but they actually make photocopies or scans
of said documents, which they then maintain in their databases.
It was further noted by the Commissioner that, whilst on the one
hand the provisions of the Hotels and other Touristic
Establishments Law of 1985 (as amended), and specifically the
provisions of Articles 10 and 64 therein, do provide that the hotel
should maintain records as to their clients, including their names,
addresses, etc, and that the client has an obligation to present
their passport if asked to do so during check-in process, such
matters need to be considered in
