Legal & Privacy Policy
Introduction
Tourism British Columbia (Tourism BC) offers a selection of websites designed to help people find information about travel and vacation experiences in British Columbia and participate in a variety of tourism-related services:
- The consumer information or HelloBC site (www.hellobc.com) provides an array of information on topics useful to people visiting British Columbia, such as accommodation, vacation packages and special offers, transportation and events;
- The Tourism BC corporate site (www.tourismbc.com) provides information on the organization's corporate program that is useful to tourism operators, media and stakeholders;
- Our travel media page (www2.hellobc.com/travelmedia/) provides information useful to writers, editors and film producers such as story ideas, images, filming and planning a research trip;
- The British Columbia Magazine site (www.bcmag.ca) provides information about our award-winning magazine and its unique portrayal of the beautiful places, intriguing journeys and remarkable people of British Columbia;
- Our supplier site (www.tourismbc.net) enables tourism product suppliers to register their properties or tourism businesses online and for inclusion, as applicable, in our Approved Accommodation Program or one of Tourism BC's marketing programs. Access to tourismbc.net is only possible with a Tourism BC-assigned authenticated user ID name and user-assigned password.
Tourism BC also offers international websites that provide travel and vacation information that may be of particular interest to visitors from other countries.
We at Tourism BC are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers. Any personal information provided to us through our website is collected, used and disclosed in accordance with the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act and other applicable legislation.
What is considered Personal Information under the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act?
Under the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, personal information includes recorded information about an identifiable individual, such as name, address, phone number, e-mail address and credit card information. Business contact information is not included in the definition of personal information under our provincial legislation.
When Tourism BC collects personal information, we identify the:
- purpose for collecting the personal information,
- legal authority for collecting it, and
- title, business phone number, business address and e-mail address of an employee who can answer questions you may have about the collection of information.
What Personal Information We Collect and How We Use It
When someone visits one of our websites, our web server automatically collects a limited amount of standard information essential to the operation, security and evaluation of the Tourism BC website. This information helps us to make our site more useful to visitors and includes the:
- Internet domain and Internet Protocol (IP) address from computers that access our web site,
- type of browser and operating system used to access our site,
- date and time our site is accessed,
- pages visited,
- address of any web sites linked to, and
- content downloaded from our site.
While some of this information does not identify who people are, other information (e.g. Internet domain names or the IP addresses of internet service providers) may provide identification. The extent of personal identification depends on the naming standards followed by the internet service provider. You may wish to check with your provider to inquire about their policies and practices in this regard. Tourism BC does not use this information to identify individuals who visit our website unless required to do so as part of an internal investigation or other law enforcement purpose.
Any personal information collected via our website (e.g. web forms) is done in compliance with BC's privacy legislation and is considered necessary for providing services offered by our organization. There is always an option of whether or not to provide us with personal information. Your decision not to participate in electronic service delivery activities will not impair your ability to browse our web site. However, it may limit the use of certain website features. The personal information provided to us is used for the purpose for which it was collected or for a use consistent with that purpose. For example, personal information may be used to: send information about British Columbia that we believe will be of interest (based on a confidential personal profile); contact about upcoming vacation opportunities; respond to inquiries; provide requested materials; obtain feedback on vacation experiences; or assist with the use of our web site. In most cases, we try to obtain explicit consent before these activities will occur. At any time, anyone may request that we stop communicating by either updating their user profile or contacting us directly.
In certain circumstances, we may need to provide personal information to our service providers in order to facilitate the operation of our website or processing of payment transactions. Before any personal information is disclosed, all recipient organizations must agree to protect the privacy of personal information in a contractual manner consistent with our policy and compliant with BC's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.
Security of Your Information
Tourism BC is obligated to protect personal information by making reasonable security arrangements against such risks as unauthorized access, collection, use, disclosure or disposal. Security measures, such as the use of FTP secure sites, have been integrated into the design, implementation and day-to-day operating practices as part our commitment to protect the information we hold.
The personal information submitted is secure once it reaches the Tourism BC server. In transit between a computer and the server, however, it may not be secure. Therefore, we cannot guarantee that information will not be disclosed in ways not otherwise described in this policy.
Links to Other Web Sites
The Tourism BC consumer website includes links to our other sites. Some of these sites offer unique services and may include detailed privacy statements describing how personal information may be used. We encourage users to review any detailed privacy statements prior to providing personal information. Your use of our website services and provision of personal information through our sites signifies your consent to our use of this information as outlined in this privacy policy or any detailed privacy statements.
The Tourism BC website also provides links to external web sites that offer information on tourism-related products and services. These sites may be operated by other government agencies, non-profit organizations or private businesses. Tourism BC is not responsible for the content and privacy practices of external web sites. We encourage users to review the privacy policy for each external site before submitting any personal information.
Cookies
Cookies are small pieces of data that web pages place in computers to assist in returning to that page. Tourism BC uses cookies to track activities on our web site to help us identify what tourism-related products and services consumers are interested in, so that we may continually work towards providing useful and relevant content. It is possible to change the settings on a web browser to deny cookies or to warn when cookies will be deposited.
Mappoint
Tourism BC uses a third party service for locator maps. See the Mappoint Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
How Long Information Is Retained
The length of information retention varies in relation to the nature of the service provided. We keep information for the length of time necessary to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was collected. Tourism BC manages the information it collects in accordance with government records retention schedules and other legislative requirements.
Changes to Our Privacy Policy
Tourism BC may, from time to time, review and revise its privacy practices and our website privacy policy.
Who Can I Contact About the Tourism British Columbia Privacy Policy or the Collection/Use of Personal Information?
General questions or comments about this privacy policy can be directed by e-mail, phone, fax or in writing to our privacy manager at:
Tourism British Columbia
Manager, Records, Access & Privacy
Box 9830.Stn.Prov.Govt
300-1803 Douglas Street
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada V8W 9W5
Phone: (250) 356-6363
Fax: (250) 387-8246
E-mail: privacy@tourismbc.com
Where Can I Find Information on British Columbia's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act?
For information relating to British Columbia's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, please refer to the Government of British Columbia website at: www.mser.gov.bc.ca/privacyaccess/
|
