Privacy Policy
We understand and respect the importance of your privacy and we are committed to the fair and transparent processing and safeguarding of your personal information. In providing our services to you, we must collect personal information from you and make subsequent use of it as detailed below. Should you have any questions regarding what you read, you can contact us as at any time by telephoning 01883 722656, emailing caroline@spiritawaytravel.co.uk or writing to Spirit Away Travel, Pondtail House, West Hill Bank, Oxted, Surrey, RH8 9JD.
We will only collect, process, use, share and store your personal information where we are satisfied that we have an appropriate legal basis to do this. In most cases this is to assist in the performance of or take steps to support the entry into a holiday contract between you and the tour operator. It could also be where you have given us your specific consent to the use of your information to comply with a relevant legal or regulatory obligation that we have, or for our legitimate commercial interests as a commercial organisation. The policy below sets out the legal basis for our use of your personal information in each relevant situation.
HOW WILL WE COLLECT INFORMATION?
We will collect personal information from you when we specifically ask for it when you write, telephone or email to make an enquiry; or when you make a booking with a tour operator via us either in person, over the telephone or email.
We may also collect information via our social media links and website through the use of cookies. Cookies are used to track visitor use of the website and to compile statistical reports on website activity. For further information visit www.aboutcookies.org or www.allaboutcookies.org.
WHAT INFORMATION WILL WE COLLECT?
We may collect all or some of the following information relating to you and other members of your holiday party:
o Full Names
o Home address
o Home and Mobile Numbers
o Date of Birth
o Passport Details including your nationality
o Dietary Requirements
o Special Information e.g. medical conditions, disabilities, heights and weights
o Next of kin or emergency contact details
o Mother’s maiden name
o Credit/debit card
o Driver’s Licence
HOW WILL WE USE THE INFORMATION YOU GIVE US?
When you enter into a contract with a tour operator to provide you with holiday arrangements, your information will be used in the following ways:
Names, dates of birth and contact details of all people on your booking will be passed on to the providers of the services making up your travel arrangements such as airlines, hotels and cruise lines. They need this information in order to arrange and secure your travel arrangements. Information disclosed on your driver’s licence will be used to secure car hire bookings. The postal and email address you provide will be used to send your confirmation and itinerary documentation.
The name and contact details of people you have identified as ‘emergency contacts’ as well as details of your travel insurance policy will be used to contact relevant individuals and insurance companies in the event of an emergency involving you.
Your credit/debit card or other payment details may be used to take authorised payments for your travel arrangements or to process refunds.
Tour operators need to understand any special requirements you have (such as those relating to any dietary requirement, disability or medical condition) so that they can check that the travel arrangements you have selected are appropriate for you. Your height and weight may be required when booking a helicopter transfer. Where appropriate, and with your specific consent, these details will be passed on to the suppliers of your travel arrangements so that they can plan your travel requirements effectively.
The passport and visa details of all members of the travelling party will be used to book flights and to expedite immigration processes when possible. If we ask for your mother’s maiden name, it will be used by the tour operator to obtain any visa necessary for your travel.
The tour operator may also pass on other information relating to you for immigration, security and anti-terrorism purposes; or for any other purposes which a government authority determines appropriate or to comply with a relevant legal or regulatory obligation that they have. For example, in some countries, the tour operator is required to provide API to border control, customs and law enforcement officers at ports of entry and exit on your itinerary.
If you fail to provide this information, the tour operator may not be able to plan or confirm your booking. And/or (after we have confirmed your booking) the tour operator may not be able to assist you in checking into your hotel or notify your relatives or insurers about any emergency situations involving you.
The tour operator will pass selected information to organisations who act as “data processors” on their behalf in order to provide you with their services. These functions may include direct marketing, administration, customer care, website hosting and the re-organisation/structuring/sale of their business.
The data we collect will also be used, if you agree, to contact you for marketing purposes about other products and services that we think may be of interest to you. We will never share your information with third parties for their own marketing purposes.
If you would like to withdraw your consent to our use, or the tour operators use of the information as set out above, you should inform us as soon as possible by contacting us on the details provided above.
WHAT OTHER RIGHTS DO YOU HAVE?
In the first instance, please talk to us directly so we can resolve any problem or query. You also have the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) if you have any questions about Data Protection. You can contact them using their help line 0303 123 113 or at www.ico.org.uk. You may ask us in writing for a copy of the information we hold about you (for which we may charge a fee if your request is excessive) and in some circumstances to delete, rectify and block the information we hold about you; to complete and restrict its use, and to port it to another organisation. You have the right to request additional information about the handling of your personal data and to object to the processing of your data in some circumstances. Where we have asked for consent to process your data, you may withdraw this consent. Please note that we may not be able to provide some of our services if your request requires disproportionate effort on our part and any information that we do hold may already have been destroyed in line with our data retention policy (see below).
SECURITY AND RETENTION OF INFORMATION
We will take all necessary steps to make sure that the information we hold about you is kept secure at all times against unauthorised or unlawful loss or disclosure. We will retain it only for as long as it is needed for its original purpose or to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. Any information no longer required will be deleted or disposed of confidentially and completely. We also have appropriate contractual obligations with our ‘data processors’ to ensure that they comply with the requirements of UK law. However, outside the European Economic Area, controls on data protection may not be as wide as the legal requirements in this country.
UPDATES AND CHANGES
As our privacy statement may change due to developments in the law we encourage you to revisit this policy from time to time so that you are aware of any changes in how we gather and use your personal information.
This Privacy Policy was last updated on 24th May 2018.