Privacy Policy
Your personal information belongs to you, and it is important for Polar Latitudes, Inc. (PLX) to protect the personal information you share with us. The purpose of PLX’s personal data policy is to explain concisely and transparently how we collect, transfer, use, and protect your personal information. PLX has a clear ambition of minimizing the distribution of your personal information and creating a high degree of transparency in relation to the information being processed. This policy also aims to inform you of the rights you may make use of.
PLX carries out all the handling of personal data in accordance with the applicable rules for processing personal data (GDPR and PDL). This Privacy Policy applies to all of our customers, suppliers, and associates.
About Polar Latitudes, Inc.
Polar Latitudes, Inc. is an international travel agency that specializes in group travel, accommodations, destination management, and polar cruises. We have our headquarters in the United States of America, from where we serve customers globally.
If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or our processing of your personal information and rights, please contact us by writing to the following address:
Polar Latitudes, Inc
PO Box 1227, White River Junction, VT 05001 USA
sales@polar-latitudes.com
What is personal information?
Personal information covers all information that can be used to identify a natural person. For example, it may be first and last name, home address or other physical address, e-mail address or other contact information, whether they relate to their private residence or workplace.
What types of personal information do we handle and why?
The information collected may vary depending on whether you are a customer, supplier, or collaborator, but generally, there will be information about customer administration, supplier administration, and PLX’s obligations.
Please note that failure to provide personal information on your part may mean that PLX will not be able to fulfill its obligations in relation to your customer or supplier relationship.
Information about our customers and how it is collected
PLX will typically collect the following information about our customers:
Namelist / Manifest
When you book voyages with PLX, we collect personal information from your travel agency about you and any fellow travelers to complete your order. This is information such as the name, date of birth, age, gender, and nationality. If the order includes children, we collect the same information, with your consent.
PLX collects and processes only ordinary personal information. However, there may be cases when booking a trip, where we must collect and process sensitive personal information (e.g., information about special menus on your voyage, or information related to your health, such as wheelchair requirements), as well as information about CPR numbers (e.g., in connection to a visa application, where we need passport information).
Without this information, we would not be able to provide the required services, as well as the necessary services associated with this personally sensitive information.
As a subscriber to our newsletter
When you sign up to receive our newsletter, we register your name, country, and e-mail address, where we e-mail our newsletters. We will save your email address for as long as you choose to continue receiving our newsletter services. You will always be able to unsubscribe by using the link at the bottom of the newsletter.
As a user of our websites
We collect information on how to navigate our websites and what searches are being made. We use the information to improve the presentation of our travel and services and to ensure the best experience for the user. The information is anonymous and not personally identifiable.
Information about our suppliers and partners
We collect information from our suppliers and collaborators in connection with the completion of a delivery or cooperation agreement.
This concerns the following information:
Contact information (Job Title, Names, Contact Information). Information you provide about your preferences in Marketing or Communication, and information you give us if you contact us with a question, to report a problem, or when you contact us as part of our cooperation.
What do we use your personal information for?
PLX processes your personal information to fulfill the purposes listed above. Note that not necessarily all cases apply to you. PLX only deals with your personal information to the extent necessary for your customer, supplier, or cooperative relationship (considering every interest in each case) and only in accordance with applicable law.
Polar Latitudes Inc., legal basis for processing your personal information
PLX treats your personal information in accordance with the law. PLX does not use your personal information to make decisions based solely on automatic processing, including profiling.
PLX aims to ensure that the personal information we process is accurate and up to date.
We therefore ask you to inform us of any changes to your personal information (e.g., change of address).
PLX processes the information about you either on the basis of consent, the conclusion of a travel agreement with PLX, or to fulfill other legal obligations. This means that even if you withdraw your consent and the consent agreement expires, your personal information may still be available to us for other purposes.
Mainly, we process your information to fulfill an agreement in which you are a party, such as a voyage. In addition, there may be situations where we process your personal information to pursue a legitimate interest, unless your interests take precedence over this.
Customer Management
In order to provide the travel services you have booked with us, we use your personal information in different ways. The information is used to issue tickets and travel documents, as well as to make hotel bookings and to pay for the services you have ordered. If you have ordered additional services, such as excursion packages, visas, extensions, and the like, the information is used in the same way to provide these services. In addition, it also includes the use of your information for accounting, settlement, auditing, etc.
In addition, we use your personal information to provide you with service if you contact us with questions, comments, or complaints. We use your name and billing number to identify you and your trip.
We use your contact information, such as your email address and telephone number, in case of questions.
Use of cookies
On our websites, third-party cookies are used for different types of traffic measurements, statistical analysis, and marketing campaigns. These activities are conducted anonymously.
Evaluation of our services
At PLX, we constantly evaluate our products and services to maintain high quality. Therefore, we use the information we collect from our customers after the trip in the evaluation schedule to develop and improve our travel and services. An anonymous evaluation of our travels is also displayed on our website.
This also applies to our marketing, where we analyze user behavior to develop how we present information and campaigns. In these cases, anonymous data will not be directly attributable to individuals.
Sharing personal information
PLX discloses your personal information only to the extent that it is necessary to provide the services you have booked with us. PLX does not disclose your personal information to partners or third parties so that they can use your information for direct marketing.
Suppliers of travel-related services
PLX will typically dispense personal information to the following recipients when booking a trip and related products and services:
Travel Systems
A GDS is an IT network system owned or operated by a company that allows transactions between travel industry service providers, mainly airlines, hotels, car rental companies, and travel agents. A GDS connects services, prices, and bookings by consolidating products across the three travel sectors, i.e, flight reservations, hotel reservations, and car rentals. At PLX, we use Amadeus.
Internal IT-system
At PLX, we handle personal information in several internal IT systems. This is our customer database and sales system. These systems are designed to provide the services you have ordered from us, and these systems are designed to handle the personal information we collect.
Airlines
PLX discloses personal information to airlines when booking your trip.
For the purpose of booking your flight, we will typically provide information such as name, departure airport, destination, date of departure and arrival, and special requests for your trip, including booking of special menus during the flight and, if applicable, special assistance requirements on the plane or at the airport of the chosen airline.
In addition, when traveling to special destinations, we might provide information about your passport number to the airline.
Hotels & Cruise lines
PLX passes personal information to the hotels that you will use on your trip. For the purpose of booking your accommodation, we will typically provide information about name, destination, date of arrival and departure, room category, customized wishes in connection with your trip, including booking of special diets during the hotel stay, and possibly, special assistance requirements during the hotel stay in connection with disability or illness.
Port agents and Operators:
PLX passes personal information to shipping companies if you are going on a ship journey as part of your trip (e.g., for day-trips to famous tourist attractions, cruises, etc.). For the purpose of booking your ship reservation, we will typically provide information such as name, destination, itinerary, date and time of departure and arrival, as well as special wishes for the cruise, including booking of special menus during the cruise journey and possibly, special assistance requirements due to disability or illness.
Travel and incoming agents:
If you, as part of your trip, are to participate in excursions or need a transfer, PLX can pass personal information to travel agents. The travel agent is responsible for arranging that excursion or transfer when ordering the desired services with local suppliers at the destination. For bookings of your excursions, transfers, etc., we typically provide information about the name, date, and time of arrival and/or departure, destination, and special requests for the transfer or excursion, including the ordering of special menus and, if applicable, special assistance requirements due to disability or illness.
Travel guides and English-speaking guides:
PLX voyages are with English-speaking expedition staff with extensive experience from the area being visited. All expedition staff are carefully selected.
The expedition staff has the task of guiding you through your journey and helping along the way. In order to do this, we typically provide information about the name, date, and time of arrival and/or departure, destination, and special requests for the transfer or the excursion, including ordering of special menus and, if applicable, special assistance requirements due to disability or illness.
International transfers of your personal information
Since we operate in the whole world, some of our partners (like hotels, port agents, and airlines) are outside the EU / EEA area. This means that personal information can be transferred to partners in these countries when it is necessary to deliver the service you have ordered. If your trip goes to a country outside of the EU / EEA, it is a prerequisite that PLX can transfer personal data to book flights, hotels, etc. at your travel destination.
Whatever country PLX sends your personal information to, PLX is committed to ensuring that a high level of protection is maintained for your personal data.
If it is practically possible for us, the transfer of your personal data will be based on the standard transfer contracts developed by the European Commission, specially prepared for this purpose. As far as shipments to the United States are concerned, they will, as far as possible, be done based on Privacy Shield. Privacy Shield is an agreement between the EU and the United States, which, among other things, establishes a strong set of data protection rules and security measures that US affiliates adhere to are obliged to comply with when processing personal data. However, in certain cases, it will not be practical for PLX to enter into a standard transfer contract or use Privacy Shield as a legal transfer basis. In such cases, the transfer of the information will be carried out pursuant to Article 49 (1) (b) of the Data Protection Regulation, as the transfer of your personal data to that country is necessary for the purpose of fulfilling the contract between you and PLX (i.e., in connection with your journey).
If you do not want PLX to send your personal information to recipients outside of the EU / EEA when booking your travel, please inform us at the latest by the time you’re booking your trip. Just be aware that if your trip goes to a country outside the EU / EEA, it is a prerequisite for PLX to transfer personal data to complete your trip.
PLX does not, in any event, pass your personal information to recipients outside of the EU / EEA unless this is necessary to meet your wishes, for example, by delivering the booked trip to you.
Data Integrity
Personal data are stored for as long as necessary to fulfill the purpose for which they are collected, unless the storage is required to comply with national legal requirements. This applies, i.a, to statutory storage periods in connection with bookkeeping and the possibility of complaint, etc.
At PLX, we save your personal information and travel history for 5 years from the date of return on your last trip, starting from the booking date. The information is stored in our customer database. We will always ensure that your personal information is deleted in a safe manner
If you are subscribed to our newsletter, we will save your contact information as long as you choose to continue to receive the newsletter.
Personal data collected in connection with fairs and the like is stored for 3 months after the event.
Precautions
PLX has implemented several technical and organizational safeguards to protect your personal information against abuse. We evaluate ongoing risks in our processing of personal data and take the necessary precautions to reduce the risk. The safety measures are reviewed continuously and revised in accordance with technological developments.
In addition, we have implemented access control in a wide range of our systems, so that only employees with a work-related need have access to personal data. We continuously provide training for our employees and have prepared and implemented a wide range of procedures to ensure that the processing of personal data is in accordance with the principles of personal rights. In addition, all of PLX’s employees are subject to professional secrecy, so you can be sure that your information is treated confidentially.
Your rights
You have several rights under applicable data protection legislation:
- You are entitled to request that the information about you be deleted or corrected.
- You also have the right to request that the processing of your personal information be limited to specific purposes, and for example, not be used for direct advertising or so-called profiling.
- In addition, you have the right to withdraw your consent for processing your personal information. If you wish, we will delete your personal information and discontinue the treatment that was covered by your consent.
If you wish to make use of these rights, please contact us through the contact information found in this Privacy Policy.
You also have the right to gain access to the personal data that PLX has registered about you. This is done by sending a written request for registry withdrawal to the address you find at the top of this Privacy Policy in the “Contact Information” section. The request should be made in writing by letter, as it must contain your signature. In the request, we need your name, contact information, and the invoice number of your previous travel. Notice the letter “Request for personal data extraction”.
Complaints
If you wish to complain about PLX’s processing of your personal information, please contact:
Polar Latitudes, Inc
PO Box 1227, White River Junction, VT 05001 USA
Email: sales@polar-latitudes.com
Updates
PLX is constantly evaluating and updating this Privacy Policy. Therefore, you should check it regularly for any changes that may affect our processing of your personal information.