Privacy Policy Statement
This Privacy Policy Statement is valid as of August 2009.
1. Overview:
Protecting our customers and visitors personal information is of the outmost importance to Exploring Horizons Ltd. (“Exploring Horizons”, “EH”, or “EH Travels”). Our web site (“web”, or “site) is intended to provide information about EH Travels and our travel related services such as: educational/cultural tours, leisure packages (e.g., cruises and escorted tours), and air/car/hotel reservations to our customers and visitors. This Privacy Statement and Policy targets the information (including personally identifiable data / “personal private data/information”) and other information that is collected from visiting our site.
2. Collection of Personal Information:
While visiting our web site, and while interacting with our online services, we may collect personal information and other information from you, such as:
We collect information when you voluntarily provide such information, such as when you contact us with inquiries, respond to one of our surveys, register for online access, or use other services provided to you by Exploring Horizons. Exploring Horizons collects basic personal data, including your name, address, and phone number(s), date of birth, email address, and credit card records. We use secure online forms and store all information in protected operating environments inaccessible to the public. Wherever Exploring Horizons collects personal information we make an effort to provide a link to this Privacy Statement and Policy.
Customers and visitors have the right to access our web site for exploratory purposes without providing personal information. In these instances, personal information will not be gathered. However, in these instances Exploring Horizons cannot guarantee to furnish full service.
3. Collection of Personal Information of Minors:
Exploring Horizons does not knowingly collect personal information of minors. Minors are not allowed to use our services without the consent of the parents. In those instances where Exploring Horizons collects personal information from minors is in reference to our educational/cultural tours or other travel arrangements, and such information will be shared with our suppliers for the fulfillment of those arrangements. This information is collected with the consent of the parents during the enrollment process. As in the case of all other type of information collected by Exploring Horizons, minors’ personal information will NOT be sold or divulged in any other ways than consistent with this Privacy Statement and Policy.
If Exploring Horizons has become in possession of personal information relating to minors without direct knowledge or intention, and if a minor has provided information without the expressed consent of parents/legal guardians, please inform Exploring Horizons and we delete such information in a timely manner.
Exploring Horizons complies with all existing rules, laws, and regulations, requiring web sites to post privacy policies and to obtain parental consent before collecting personal information from minors. Parents/legal guardians should monitor their children’s Internet usage and to help enforce our statement and policy by instructing their children never to provide personal information on our web site without their permission.
4. Your Consent to Use Your Information:
By accessing and using our site, you consent to the collection and use of any information gathered by Exploring Horizons as permitted by Federal and State Laws. In addition, by voluntarily providing us with any of your personal information (either via this web site, e-mail, online submission forms, or telephone conversations and voicemail messages, and SMS-messages) you are consenting to our use of it in accordance with this statement and policy. You also acknowledge and agree that such information may be transferred from your current location to the offices and servers of Exploring Horizons and the authorized third parties referred to herein located in the United States.
5. Collection of Other Type of Information:
At times, when you visit and interact with Exploring Horizons via our web site and online services, we receive and store certain personally non-identifiable information. Such information, which is collected passively using various technologies, cannot presently be used to specifically identify you. Exploring Horizons may store such information itself or such information may be included in databases owned and maintained by Exploring Horizons affiliates, agents or service providers. Exploring Horizons may use such information and pool it with other information to track, for example, the total number of visitors to our Web Site, the number of visitors to each page of our Web Site, and the domain names of our visitors' Internet service providers. Once again, during this information-gathering process no personal information/non-identifiable information is gathered, stored, or used.
6. Use of Web Cookies:
A cookie (also tracking cookie, browser cookie, and HTTP cookie) is a small piece of text stored on a user's computer by a web browser. A cookie consists of one or more name-value pairs containing bits of information.
The cookie is sent as an HTTP header by a web server to a web browser and then sent back unchanged by the browser each time it accesses that server. A cookie can be used for authentication, session tracking (state maintenance), storing site references, shopping cart contents, the identifier for a server-based session, or anything else that can be accomplished through storing textual data.
As text, cookies are not executable. Because they are not executed, they cannot replicate themselves and are not viruses.
While accessing our site we may use such technology to provide additional functionality to the site and help us analyze browsing statistics and customers’ preferences (logins data and more). In these cases no personal information will be collected without your expressed permission.
Many browsers will give users the option to accept or decline cookies. We strongly suggest that cookies be allowed while visiting our site.
7. Demographics and Usage Statistics:
In a continuing effort to provide our customers and visitors with better services Exploring Horizons may use statistics gathered to compile research on customer demographics, interests and browsing and traveling behavior/preferences. The research will only use non-personally-identifiable information for this purpose. Exploring Horizons may also disclose aggregated user statistics in order to describe our services to current and prospective business partners and to other third parties for other lawful purposes.
8. E-mail Communication and Transfer of Personal Information:
Exploring Horizons makes use of electronic mail (e-mail) in communicating with its customers and visitors. Exploring Horizons will respond to inquiries forwarded via e-mail with an electronic reply. Exploring Horizons, and its agents, will use your personal information to reply to your inquiries.
In an effort to diminish the amount of printed paper, and to assist the paper conservation effort, Exploring Horizons will forward invoices, quotes, account statements, and other account related information via e-mail.
We want to guarantee our present and future customers that Exploring Horizons DOES NOT disclose your personal information to anyone else, other than the hotels, airlines, and additional service providers you'll be using on your trip. We use your email address to answer your questions and to send you updates on your itinerary.
Exploring Horizons may use your e-mail address to forward promotions, special offers, and other marketing information that may interest you. Rest assured that each communication we send you will contain instructions permitting you to "opt-out" of receiving future marketing-related e-mails. In addition, if at any time you wish not to receive any future communications or you wish to have your name deleted from our mailing lists, please contact us as indicated below.
If Exploring Horizons intends on using any personal information in any other manner than expressed in this Privacy Statement and Policy, you will be informed of such anticipated use prior to or at the time at which the personal information is collected.
9. The Disclosure of Your Personal and Other Information:
Exploring Horizons will NEVER sell your personal information. There are, however, certain circumstances in which we may share your personal information; these are, but are not limited to:
a) Other companies such as suppliers for the planning and fulfillment of your traveling needs.
b) Our agents, consultants and other elated parties for the planning and fulfillment of your traveling needs.
c) As required with local, state, and federal regulations, such as: to (i) comply with a legal obligation, (ii) protect and defend the rights or property of Exploring Horizons, (iii) act in urgent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of the Web Site or the public, or (iv) protect against legal liability.
10. Limitations to This Statement and Policy:
The conditions, and agreements, found in this Privacy Statement and Policy are applicable only to Exploring Horizons Ltd. The Statement and Policy shall not apply to other processes of collecting, using, and storing personal information obtained by other legal means such as, but not limited to: information posted to any public areas of our site (such as bulletin boards, blogs, and reviews); information such as tour pictures publicly posted; and all other unsolicited information. In such instances, Exploring Horizons will consider such information to be non-confidential and Exploring Horizons shall be free to reproduce, use, disclose, and distribute such information to others without limitation or attribution.
11. Extension to Other Web Sites and External Links:
Customers and visitors must be aware that the conditions and agreements found in this Privacy Statement and Policy are applicable only to Exploring Horizons Ltd web site. Exploring Horizons shall not be held accountable for the manner with which personal information is handled by other web sites not operated or controlled by Exploring Horizons. In addition, the existence of external links on our web site does not preclude that Exploring Horizons endorses or has reviewed the external sites and their privacy policies.
12. Safety, Security, and Compliance:
Exploring Horizons reassures its customers and visitors to its commitment to adhere to the guidelines and recommendations set forth by Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and by International Air Transport Association Resolution 890 (IATA Card Sales Rules), and IATA’s Communiqué No.07/09.
This being said, no Internet or e-mail transmission is ever fully secure or error free. In particular, e-mails sent to or from our site or online submissions form may not be fully secure. Therefore, personal sensitive information (such as credit cards information, DOB, SS#, and other such information) cannot be transmitted via our online submissions forms or e-mail systems. Submission of sensitive information MUST be submitted either by phone or fax (visit our Legal and Forms sections for appropriate forms).
13. Collateral Terms and Conditions:
The access of our web site is subject to the terms and conditions found in Terms and Conditions of Use Statement (www.ehtravels.com/termsuse).
14. Updating and Changing the Conditions and Agreements Found in Our Privacy Statement and Policy:
Exploring Horizons reserves the right to update or modify the conditions and agreements found in this Privacy Statement and Policy at any time without prior notice. It is the sole responsibility of customers and visitors to review the conditions and agreements periodically. Your continued use of our web site, its content and services, after any changes or revisions will indicate your concurrence with the revised conditions and agreements.
15. Contacting Us:
Please help us to keep your personal information accurate by contacting us as soon as possible. We will take all reasonable measures to correct mistakes and errors. Please contact us with suggestions and inquiries; we will try to accommodate your needs and requests.
You may contact us: info@ehtravels.com