Personal Information Protection and Privacy Policy

At Destination Greater Victoria, we value your trust and your privacy is a top priority. To respect that trust we adhere to ethical standards for gathering, using and safeguarding any information you provide.

This Privacy Policy is effective October 2018.
Previous policy: January 2004.

Contents

1. Who are we?
2. Where does this Privacy Policy apply?
3. Which types of information do we collect?
4. Cookies
5. How do we use your information?
6. How do we protect your information?
7. How do we share your information?
8. How do we allow you to manage or delete your information?
9. How do we respond to lawful requests for information?
10. How do we operate and transfer data as part of our services?
11. Children
12. Changes to this Privacy Policy
13. How to contact us

1.    Who are we?

Destination Greater Victoria is the business name for the Greater Victoria Visitors and Convention Bureau. Our website (www.tourismvictoria.com) is Greater Victoria’s official tourism information website providing comprehensive information to inspire visitation to visit British Columbia’s vibrant capital city region, assist with trip planning and promote member businesses.

2.    Where does this Privacy Policy apply?

This Privacy Policy applies to web sites, email campaigns, digital communications, social media, apps, and other web-based services operated under the Destination Greater Victoria brand. These are collectively referred to as our “Services” in this Privacy Policy. If or where some of our Services may require a different or enhanced privacy policy, that policy overrides this Privacy Policy.

3.    Which types of information do we collect?

To provide you with Destination Greater Victoria’s Services, we collect and process personal and non-personal information. The range and types of data we collect depend on how you use our Services and which Services you use. Personal information is any data that can enable you to be identified. Non-personal information means data generated as you use our Services, for example records of access and usage statistics.

Destination Greater Victoria receives and stores information you enter on our website, provide verbally to staff, communicate by telephone, email or in writing (such as comment cards), or otherwise give to us. We collect and record a range of data in our database (potentially including name, address, business role, telephone number, email address, social media links) whenever you request information, subscribe to our newsletters, purchase products or services, participate in our surveys or contests, or use any other services we provide. We use this information to better understand our visitors and potential visitors, in order to improve our website, our Services, and our individual and group travel products. If you elect to participate in on-line surveys from www.canada.travel we will store your travel preferences in order to custom tailor our newsletters for you.

You may withdraw your consent to collection, use or disclosure of your personal information at any time, subject to any legal or contractual restrictions and providing reasonable notice to Destination Greater Victoria. If you withdraw your consent to collection, use or disclosure of your personal information, you may be unable to access Destination greater Victoria’s products or services.

From time to time Destination Greater Victoria may also collect information from external sources such as credit card processing services, search engines, social media and hotel booking websites. In all cases we will take reasonable steps to ensure that we only collect that personal information that is relevant for the purposes for which it is to be used, and we will not process your personal information in ways that are incompatible with these purposes.

By using Destination Greater Victoria services you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy and consenting to collection of the information referred to in this section. When using our Services you are electing to provide information including:

• Sign up information

An optional account can be used to access some of the features of our Services. When you sign up for an account we will collect information including your first name, surname and email address.

•Purchases

If you make a purchase through us we collect information necessary to complete the transaction, including your name, billing address, debit/credit card details and/or other financial information. All personal data including payment and financial information are encrypted using the Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol before being submitted to us over the Internet.

Destination Greater Victoria does not process debit/credit card information directly and uses third party ’Payment Processors’ for this purpose. Purchases through our Visitor Centre are relayed and processed using Moneris (see https://www.moneris.com). Please refer to the privacy policies of third party payment processors for further information. Third-party processors may also provide us with additional purchase or transaction data, which we collect and safeguard under the scope of this Privacy Policy.

Additional credit card payments may be processed through Stripe or Authorize.net.

• Other Sources

We may collect information you share when you elect to participate in surveys or focus groups to gain insights about our products and services, or if you provide testimonials, reviews, or responses to our questions. We may also collect data when you elect to participate in our promotions, events and/or contests, including information when registering.

• Usage information

We collect information about your activity using our Services. This may include the dates and times you visit or access our Services, the features you access, the pages and views shown to you, the clicks and gestures you perform on your browser or device, and related usage statistics.

• Device information

We collect information about the devices and software you use to access our Services, including device attributes, operations, identifiers, settings, network data, and cookie data (see section below). Through specific device permissions, you may also grant us the ability to collect additional device information. This may include data from sensors indicating your global positioning system (GPS) location in latitude and longitude. Some information, such as device/browser information, sensors, location, software and connectivity data, may update automatically as you use our Services.

4.    Cookies

We collect a range of non-personal identifying information through use of “cookies” A cookie is a small unit of text that a web site can send to your browser or device for storage on your system. Some cookies are deleted when you end your online session (these are session cookies) while others may remain on your device over years (these are persistent cookies). We also use session cookies to store information. These cookies are used to recognize you when you return to our sites, enabling us to personalize our content for you and remember your preferences. Most cookies expire automatically within a short amount of time after your online visit or when you log out. We may use persistent cookies on our Services to store personalized preferences to enhance your experience while browsing the site. These include settings that determine how certain portions of the service are displayed, such as basic search preferences.

We may allow our service provider to place cookies on your devices and collect the IP address of your devices, which provides our service provider with your general location data. Our service provider may use this data to serve you with advertisements, on our website or elsewhere online, and to report to us on an aggregated basis on the effectiveness of our advertisements at inspiring tourists to travel to Victoria and provide us with statistics on visitors of Victoria (for instance, where they are coming from). In order to do so, our service provider may combine your IP address with other information that our service provider has obtained from other sources, as permitted by law.

If you wish to opt out of third party cookies that allow us to serve advertisements and collect aggregate information on arrivals at Victoria click Here. If you opt-out, our service provider will also cease collecting information about your IP address from other sources.

5.    How do we use your information?

We use your information primarily to deliver and improve our Services. In addition to the uses described above, we use your information to:

•    Communicate with you and identify you as a user for our Services.
•    Provide access to our Services, and personalize and improve them.
•    Promote safety, integrity and security within our Services.
•    Promote, market and advertise our Services as well as those of affiliated partners. This includes email marketing campaigns. You may opt-out of receiving marketing messages by using the opt-out mechanisms and links provided in each email.
•    Administer our Services.

6.    How do we protect your information?

Destination Greater Victoria takes security of your personal information very seriously. Our Services protect your personal information during transit using encryption such as Transport Layer Security (TLS). When we store your personal data we use password-protected computer systems with limited access, housed in facilities with physical security features.

When you use our Services to publish or post content, some of the personal information and content you share may be visible to other users within our digital network, and could be read, collected and/or used by them. You are responsible for the personal information you choose to share or submit. For example, if you use certain hashtags associated with Destination Greater Victoria and used by Destination Greater Victoria for promotional campaigns, this information might be used for www.tourismvictoria.com and is therefore public. Please exercise care when using these features.

7.    How do we share your information?

Your information is shared with others in the following ways:

• Advertisers.

Although we work with third-party advertising networks and service providers on our digital platforms, we do not share information that personally identifies you or can be used to contact you, such as your name or email address. Third party advertising networks and service providers collect only device data in order to send you interest-based advertising. Information collected for this purpose may include descriptors received from web browsers or operating systems, such as browser types and settings, operating systems, device models, carriers, location data, IP address, mobile device and advertising identifiers (e.g. Apple IDFA or Google Advertising ID), cookie or pixel information, or similar technology.

• New ownership.

If ownership or control of our Services or associated assets changes in whole or part, we may transfer your information to the new owner.

• Service Providers.

We may use third-party service providers, vendors, agents, contractors or others to provide services on our behalf, or to fulfill a service or transaction you have requested. In such cases we ensure written agreements are in place with these third-party service providers requiring them to maintain the same level of protection for your personal information as provided under this Privacy Policy and limiting their use of your personal information to the specified services provided on our behalf. Such service providers may include:

o    Simpleview Inc.
o    HubSpot
o    Verb Interactive
o    MMGY Global
o    Crowdriff
o    Instagram

8.    How do we allow you to manage or delete your information?

You can request, rectify and erase information that you provided to us which is directly associated with your account. You can maximise data integrity by ensuring your contact details and preferences are accurate, complete, and up to date. You can contact our corporate office (details below) to request the information we have on record for you. Similarly, you can request us to delete your information by contacting our corporate office.

To protect you and our members we may ask you to provide proof of identity before we can process data access and/or deletion requests. We may decline to process requests that are frivolous, vexatious or extremely impractical, jeopardize the privacy of others, or not otherwise required by local law. We might not be able to accommodate some requests objecting to processing of personal information, notably where such requests would not allow us to continue providing Services to you. Information such as IP and email addresses will be retained for anti-fraud and anti-spam purposes for as long as relevant and required by law.

9.    How do we respond to lawful requests for information?

We will cooperate with third parties to enforce their intellectual property or related rights. In some cases Destination Greater Victoria may be required to access, preserve, and/or disclose personal information in response to lawful requests by public authorities. We reserve the right to disclose your personal information as required by law, within or outside your country of residence, including when we believe disclosure is (a) prudent or necessary to protect our rights or Services, or the safety or vital interests of a person or organization, or (b) to comply with a judicial proceeding, court order, subpoena, warrant, or similar legal process.

10.    How do we operate and transfer data as part of our services?

Our Services and all data, including your personal data, are hosted on servers located within Canada. If you are using or accessing our Services from outside Canada your data will be transferred to Canada and processed and stored within Canada. As a result, Canada’s federal and provincial governments, courts, law enforcement agencies and/or regulatory agencies may be able to obtain your data through laws applicable in Canada. Privacy protections provided by Canadian law may differ to those within your jurisdiction.

11.    Children

Destination Greater Victoria’s web sites are not intended for children under 13 years of age. No-one less than 13 years of age may provide any personal information to or on these sites. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13 years of age, do not provide any information (such as your name, address, telephone number, email address, screen names or user names) on any of Destination Greater Victoria’s web sites, or use any of its features, including interactive or social media. If we learn that we have collected or received personal information from a child less than 13 years of age without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at 250-414-6976 or write to our Privacy Officer (details below).

12.    Changes to this Privacy Policy

Destination Greater Victoria may amend this Privacy Policy from time to time. We encourage you to check this page regularly to ensure you are aware of our current Privacy Policy. If we make any material changes to the way we collect, use or store your data, we will notify you by email or by posting an announcement through our Services. To the extent permitted by law, you are bound by any changes to this Privacy Policy when you use our Services after you have been notified of such changes.

13.    How to contact us

Destination Greater Victoria strives to be transparent about its policies and procedures for managing personal information, and aims to make this information available in a form that is readily understandable. Copies of this Privacy Policy are available by contacting Destination Greater Victoria; we also welcome your comments or questions. You may contact us through:

The Privacy Officer
Destination Greater Victoria
Suite 600-765 Broughton Street
Victoria, B.C.
V8W 1E2

Email: [email protected]
Phone: 250-896-4156