Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy for Travelcare

TRAVELCARE adheres to the principles of the laws for the protection of personal information as they apply in BC.

The protection of your personal information is important to us

This document describes how we collect, use and protect the personal information of travellers and other persons who may have dealings with us. Please read this Privacy Protection Policy carefully. If you have any questions or concerns you should contact us at the address set out below.

What is “personal information”?

The personal information that we are concerned with in this Privacy Protection Policy is the private information of individuals such as birth dates, passport numbers, travel dates and destinations, health information, travel and meal preferences, frequent flyer and other membership numbers, personal e-mail addresses and financial information related to personal credit cards, bank accounts and other payment methods. Personal information does not include an individual’s name, title, business address, business telephone, fax or cellular phone numbers.

Why do we collect, use and disclose your personal information?

We collect relevant personal information when you ask us to provide you with information or travel related services (such as air, ground and sea transportation, hotel and other accommodation, tours, meals, services and insurance products) that are sold or reserved through us (the “Travel Services”). We use and disclose the personal information in order to provide you with the requested information or Travel Services and for purposes ancillary and additional to that. In particular your personal information may be used –

to furnish you, now and in the future, with travel related information by way of personalised communication, regular newsletters or travel alerts;
to identify you and your preferences;
to research and suggest Travel Services to meet your communicated needs;
to make airline, hotel, car, tour and other reservations on your behalf;
to obtain travel insurance policies on your behalf;
to obtain credit card or other financial approval for payment;
to compile statistics and conduct market research;
to compile reports for the suppliers of your Travel Services and for regulatory and industry agencies;
to compile business travel reports for your employer related to destinations travelled, costs, classes of service, hotels used and duration of stay and car rental companies used and duration of rentals;
to comply with the law;
for purposes ancillary to the above.

Unless permitted by law, your personal information will not be used for a purpose other than the purposes mentioned above (“the Identified Purposes”) without obtaining additional consent from you.

How do we collect your personal information?

The following are the sources that we may use for gathering personal information. We will use only those required for the Identified Purposes. We may gather information –

from you when you request information or Travel Services either orally or in writing;
from your agent, family member, employer, employee or authorised representative when such person is seeking information or Travel Services on your behalf or otherwise representing you;
from personal travel profiles you have completed;
from our records relating to previous requests or reservations you have made;
from the computerised reservation or other systems used to make your travel reservations now or in the past;
from credit card issuers, credit bureaux or other consumer reporting agencies;
from the airlines or other suppliers of Travel Services to you at any time

Who will we disclose your personal information to?

We act as the agent or intermediary for or in respect of the suppliers (‘the Suppliers”) of the Travel Services. Accordingly, personal information relevant to the sole purpose of providing your Travel Services will be disclosed to the Suppliers of such Travel Services. It may also be disclosed to:

the third parties referred to above in connection with the Identified Purposes or referred to as sources of your personal information; or
other parties or organisations who may acquire the whole or portion of our business and who are obliged to protect your personal information in terms of this Personal Information Policy or the Laws.
Responsibility for personal information provided to us remains under our control, including personal information that has been transferred to Suppliers.

Your consent

We will accept any of the following as your consent to our existing use and future collection, use and disclosure of your personal information for the Identified Purposes:

the notification to you of this Privacy Protection Policy, unless you advise us that you do not agree with it and that you wish to opt out of all or specified portions of it;
the provision of personal information to us either directly or through your agent or representative in connection with a request for information, Travel Services or otherwise;
your written or oral consent as obtained through an application process, contest entry form, survey or similar form of interaction with us including any previous consent that you may have given us; or
your other actions or inactions in relation to personal information as may be regarded as consent under the Laws.

In terms of the Laws there may be occasions when your consent is not required or is deemed to have been given. These occasions include, without limitation, police and other investigations, enquiries relating to dispute resolution or litigation or when the personal information is publicly available.

When you give us the personal information of other persons

When you share with us the personal information of your travel companions or other persons for whom you are requesting information or Travel Services:

you consent on their behalf to the collection, use and disclosure of their personal information in terms of this Personal Information Policy; and
you warrant to us that you are authorised to give that consent on their behalf and indemnify and hold us harmless against any claim by such persons in which they allege that you were not so authorised.

Withdrawing your consent

You may withdraw your consent at any time upon reasonable notice to us. Withdrawal of your consent is however subject to legal or contractual restrictions. If the withdrawal of your consent would frustrate the performance of a legal obligation, your consent may not be withdrawn unless we have also agreed to it in writing. You should also note that withdrawing your consent may affect our ability to continue to provide you with Travel and other services. Should you wish to withdraw your consent, we will advise you at that time of the implications of such withdrawal.

To withdraw your consent you should contact us at the contact address or telephone number listed below.

How do we protect your personal information?

Private financial and other sensitive personal information is stored by us in secure areas using physical measures such as filing cabinets that are secured after hours, alarm systems and, in the case of electronic data, in databases that are password protected. Third parties such as Suppliers to whom such information is transferred as contemplated in the above paragraph “Who will we disclose your personal information to?” are also required to protect your personal information in a manner consistent with the Laws.

Exclusion of our Liability in respect of Foreign Suppliers.

Your particular travel or other arrangements may require the disclosure of your personal information to airlines, hotels and other Suppliers or third parties who are not subject to the Laws for residential, jurisdictional or other reasons. Foreign Suppliers may not be required to protect personal information in the same way or to the same extent as required by the Laws. Our liability for the failure of any such Foreign Supplier to protect your personal information is specifically excluded. If you have any concern about the disclosure of personal information to a Foreign Supplier you should advise us in writing well in advance of any travel reservation or other arrangement being made with or involving such Foreign Supplier on your behalf.

How long do we keep your personal information?

Your personal information is retained only so long as we need it to provide information, Travel Services and other services to you, and for a reasonable length of time thereafter in order to meet any Identified Purpose or other legal or business purpose.

Accessing your personal information

You have a right to access the personal information that we have in our custody or under our control. You also have the right to know the names of Suppliers or other third parties to whom personal information has been disclosed. Access may be subject to legal restrictions and in particular we may be obliged or have the right to refuse your request if:

the information is protected by solicitor-client or other litigation privilege or has been generated in the course of a formal dispute resolution process;
access would reveal confidential or proprietary commercial information;
access might result in a lawful refusal by another party to provide similar information to us in the future;
the information was collected for purposes relating to an investigation, contractual dispute or legal proceedings (actual or contemplated);
disclosure could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another person or the individual requesting the information;
disclosure would reveal personal information about another person;
the information would reveal the identity of a person who has provided an opinion about another person and the former person has not consented to the disclosure of his or her identity;
the requested information is too costly to produce; or
disclosure is otherwise protected or prevented by law.

Applying for access

Requests for access to personal information should be made in writing at the address set out below. The request should contain sufficient information to enable us to identify you and should specify the particular information that is being sought. We will try to respond to your request as soon as possible but may require you to provide additional information as to your identity, right to receive the requested information or greater particularity as to the information sought. We may also charge you a reasonable fee for providing access to your personal information in which event we will advise you of the approximate cost and may request a deposit to cover such cost before proceeding.

Accuracy and limitations on our responsibility

From time to time we may update the personal information that we have on file for you. We rely on you however to advise us of any relevant changes to or errors in your personal information and shall have no responsibility for any personal information that is inaccurate. In addition, although we take reasonable steps to protect your personal information, we are not responsible for any improper use of your personal information that is beyond our reasonable control.

Please tell us if you have a complaint

If you have a complaint relating to this Privacy Protection Policy or any of our procedures please contact us. If your complaint is justified we will take reasonable steps to resolve the issue including amending our Privacy Protection Policy or procedures. If for some reason we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction you may have the right to contact the TRAVELCARE by telephone at (+351) 225084760 or by email at geral@travelcare.pt

Contacting us

For more information about our Privacy Protection Policy, to file a complaint, to make an enquiry or to opt out of all or parts of the Privacy Protection Policy, please contact us at:

TRAVELCARE – AGÊNCIA DE VIAGENS E TURISMO LDA.

Rua Damião de Góis 323. 4050-227 Porto, Portugal

+351 225 084 760

geral@travelcare.pt

We reserve the right to amend this Privacy Protection Policy at any time. The updated Privacy Protection Policy will be posted on our website and amendments will take effect from the date of such posting.