Privacy Statement - Atlantic Tours & Travel

Nova Scotia - where the welcome mat's always out

We at Atlantic Tours Limited ("ATL") recognize the importance of protecting your personally identifiable information ("PII") that you provide to us.

As of January 1, 2004, the Canadian federal government's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Document Act (PIPEDA), a new privacy law, will apply to ATL's operations. The act regulates the collection, use and handling of PII (e.g. personal information about an individual) regardless of how the information exists. This policy explains how ATL protects your privacy and summarizes how and why we collect, use and disclose PII that you may provide to us.

This policy is applicable to PII that you provide and which may also be held in the ATL's database system located in Canada.

PII does not include the name, title or business address or office telephone number of an employee of an organization, or the name, address, telephone number, or similar information of a person that is publicly available (e.g., in a public telephone directory).

In this policy we also explain how you can contact us if you have a question about, or want to make a change to or delete, any PII that ATL may be holding about you. We strongly recommend that you take the time to read this privacy policy and retain it for future reference.

What PII does ATL collect about me and how does it collect it?
When you make a reservation, request information about ATL products and/or services, we need to collect certain information about you in order to provide our services. The information we require is necessary in order to identify you, contact you, provide the requested service and administer the delivery of your product and/or service provided. The service that you use will determine what information we collect from you. This information will include at least some of the following about you:

Name
Your Home and/or Business Address
Phone Number(s) at which we may contact you
Your Date of Birth
Passport Number for cross border/international travel
Method of Payment (e.g. Credit Card - Account Number, Expiration Date and security code)

When you make a reservation, we will also record information that details your product and/or service purchased.
The PII we collect about you will be with your express or implied consent, by your request for our services. How we collect PII will depend on how you use our services. We may collect PII directly from you by telephone, fax, e-mail, in person, or through your use of our web site. We may also collect information about you indirectly though a travel agent, or through one of our partners, or affiliated companies when you deal with us through those means.

You may choose not to provide some or all of your PII to us, but this may prevent us from providing our services to you or limit our ability to provide you with the level of service that you would otherwise expect from us.

How is my PII used or disclosed by ATL?
We are dedicated to building a rewarding and lasting relationship with every customer. In order to provide the level of service we believe you expect from us, we may use and disclose your PII for the following purposes:

General purposes - We use your PII to:

Provide the products and/or services that you request;
Do all things necessary to administer and collect payment for those products and/or services;
Research, develop, manage, protect and improve our products and/or services;
Unless you opt out, conduct customer satisfaction surveys and to inform you of any improvements or changes that we have made to our services and/or services; and
Maintain and develop our service oriented software and other business systems.

We may disclose your PII to other related and non-related organizations including:

To your company or organization if you use our services under a corporate or other commercial account;
To one of our partners or affiliated companies;
To your credit card issuers;
To credit reporting and fraud checking agencies;
To debt collection agencies, if you fail to pay monies owed to us; and
To government, regulatory and law enforcement agencies where the disclosure is required or authorized by law.

Marketing:

You may choose not to allow us to use or disclose your PII for direct marketing purposes by indicating your preference to our representative during the rental agreement process or by contacting us as outlined in this Policy.
If you have not opted out of receiving marketing materials, we may use and disclose your PII to offer you products and services provided by ATL, or our affiliates
We may also use (but not disclose) your PII to offer you products and services provided by ATL program partner organizations.
The service providers we have retained or may retain to perform services on our behalf are not authorized by us to use or disclose the information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements.

Providing Customer Service:

When you provide us with your PII, we will enter your information into our database that is located and maintained in Canada. Once your information is in the ATL database, it will not be used for any purpose not set forth in this policy.
Your PII may be accessible by ATL entities, should you request services from other ATL entities.

How does ATL protect my PII?
We take reasonable steps to protect all of the PII we hold from misuse, loss, unauthorized access and modification or disclosure in violation of this policy. This protection applies in relation to information stored in both electronic and hard copy form. Access to the ATL's database is restricted to authorized personnel and is password protected. PII transmitted through our system is encrypted.

Can I access the PII that ATL has about me?
You may access any PII that we have collected about you subject to certain exceptions. We will normally provide access without charge unless you either request access to a large volume of information or we have to access archived records to obtain the information. In these circumstances, we may impose a reasonable fee. We will, however advise you of that fee in advance. You may challenge the reasonableness of the cost. Details of how to contact us are set out below. There may be instances where we may not be able to provide you access to your PII, for certain reasons. Among these are; it has been destroyed or deleted after expiry of applicable retention periods, it contains PII of other persons or it contains commercially sensitive or proprietary information owned by us. If we are unable to provide you access, we will explain why and document that for our records.

Tell us if we need to update your PII or preferences.
You play an active role in assisting ATL in maintaining the accuracy of your PII for as long as it is used for the purposes set out in this policy. Your prompt notification of any changes to your PII will assist us. You can update your preferences and your PII by contacting the ATL's Privacy Officer at the contacts set out in this policy. If we don't agree to make the changes, you may challenge our decision.

What you consent and agree to.
When you provide us with your PII, you consent and agree to our use and disclosure of your personal information in accordance with this Policy including, in particular to:

Our collection, use and disclosure of that information in order to provide the products and/or service you have requested, and deliver such products/services to you, to provide customer services, and to operate our business, as described in this Policy; If you do not opt out, our use and disclosure of your PII for direct marketing purposes.

Your Options.
You may choose not to provide us with some or all of your PII with the understanding that this may prevent us from providing the type of products/services you request or possibly any service at all. You can opt-out of use and disclosure of your information for marketing purposes and receipt of direct mailings by contacting ATL through one of the methods below. In addition, you can withdraw prior consent by giving us at least sixty (60) days prior written notice by any of the methods provided below. Your consent will be withdrawn, however, it is possible that you may receive promotions scheduled prior to our receipt of your withdrawal of consent.

Changes to this Policy.
This is our current privacy policy outlining our PII management practices. It replaces any other privacy policy published by us prior to the date below. We may change this policy from time to time. If you have any questions, need to modify, or delete your PII or to obtain an up to date copy of our privacy policy, contact us.

Whom can I contact for further information?
If you wish to contact us, (1) to inquire about our privacy practices; (2) to provide feedback and comments; (3) to access or correct your PII we have; (4) to opt out of further communications; and/or (5) to make inquiries regarding our privacy practices, contact our Privacy Officer as detailed below.

We offer Customers the opportunity to "opt out" of use and disclosure of the Customer's PII for marketing purposes. Customers can elect to opt out from any communications including e-mail, direct mail, fax and telephone by contacting us as detailed below. We also incorporate into our Data Warehouse "do not market" lists. Note that if you (i) refuse to consent to, (ii) opt out of, or (iii) withdraw your consent to our collection, use and/or disclosure of your PII, we may not be able to offer you certain products, services and benefits. Customers can contact ATL for any of the above reasons by using the following methods:

Fax: 1-902-425-3596
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Mail:
- Privacy Officer
  Atlantic Tours Limited
  22 Waddell Avenue, Suite 101
  Dartmouth, Nova Scotia B3B 1K3

Dispute Resolution:
In the unlikely event that you are not satisfied with the way in which we handle your inquiry, you can contact any of the following:

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada at:
Mail - 112 Kent Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1H3
Phone: 1-800-282-1376
Fax: 613-967-6850