Privacy Policy

Introduction

In addition to reviewing this privacy policy (‘Privacy Policy’), please read Travelstart Online Travel Operations (Pty) Ltd’s (‘Travelstart’) Terms and Conditions as presented on the website www.travelstart.co.za and the mobisite (m.travelstart.co.za) (‘the Sites’). Your use of the Sites CONSTITUTES AN AGREEMENT to Travelstart’s Terms and Conditions.
Travelstart takes the privacy of its customer data very seriously. Please read this Privacy Policy in full to understand how the Sites will treat your entered personal data after it has been collected by Travelstart through the Sites.
In the unlikely event of this Privacy Policy changing, Travelstart will inform you via the Sites’ homepages, by requesting you to tick the acceptance box prior to being able to continue your use of the Sites. However, Travelstart assures you that it only uses your data, as entered by you on the Sites, for legitimate business reasons and as specified in this Privacy Policy. Continued access and use of the Sites by you will CONSTITUTE YOUR ACCEPTANCE OF ANY CHANGES OR REVISIONS to the Privacy Policy.
One of the goals of Travelstart is to bring you information that is tailored to your individual needs through the use of the Sites, whilst at the same time protecting your privacy. The information set out below is a summary of the various ways in which Travelstart treats the information you provide to it whilst using the Sites.

The Type of Information Travelstart.co.za collects through the Sites

Travelstart generally collects personally identifying information through the Sites with your specific knowledge and consent. It can collect data on you from a variety of different sources. These include:

1. when you purchase products or services from the Sites and knowingly provide Travelstart with your personal details;
2. when you become a subscriber to Travelstart’s newsletter and/or Bargain Box;
3. when you activate an account;
4. when you speak to Travelstart’s desk personnel and provide them with your personal data including, but not limited to your name, address, contact details (such as your telephone numbers and e-mail address), and credit card details (collectively, ‘Personal Data’) either telephonically or by email;;
5. via explicit data capture measures, for example by entering competitions and/or completing surveys; and
6. via implicit data capture measures such as studying which pages you read the most via the use of cookies.  For a better understanding on the use of cookies, please refer to the clause named ‘Cookies’ below.

In any of the above cases the data Travelstart collects may include Personal Data, whilst optional information such as your age, location or gender may also be requested.

How Travelstart uses Information provided by You

When you make a booking via the Sites or give Travelstart any Personal Data, Travelstart may need to collect information about you to complete and/or process a specific transaction (such as a flight booking with a specific airline), fulfill your order and provide you with the services you expect at the time, and in the future.
UNLESS YOU PROVIDE TRAVELSTART WITH YOUR EXPRESS CONSENT (either via the Sites or directly to Travelstart), it will only disclose Personal Data to third parties if it is required for the purpose of completing your transaction with Travelstart, provided that Travelstart may disclose your Personal Data to certain permitted third parties, such as members of Travelstart’s own group, its own professional advisers who are bound by confidentiality codes and/or when it is legally obliged to do so. There may be occasions when Travelstart is legally required to provide access to its database in order to cooperate with police investigations or other legal proceedings. In those instances, the information so provided shall be solely for that purpose.
The Sites retain and use your Personal Data to provide you with the best remote commerce experience by providing you with a personalised service and to give you details of offers which Travelstart thinks will be of interest to you. Travelstart may also use your Personal Data to process any transactions you undertake with Travelstart and for internal administration and analysis.
Travelstart shall not sell, rent or trade your Personal Data to third parties for marketing or any other purposes without your express consent (except as specifically set out in the paragraph immediately above).

Cookies

The Sites use cookies. A cookie is a piece of text stored on your computer or smart phone by the web browser. Two types of cookies are described below:

 

Session cookies: These are used to maintain a so-called ‘session state’ and only lasts for the duration of your use of the Sites. A session cookie expires when you close your browser, or if you have not visited the server for a certain period of time. For example, if you consider your journey through the Sites to be a conversation with Travelstart, the session cookie reminds the Sites where Travelstart was in that conversation (for instance if at some point in the conversation you asked Travelstart to add a hotel to your basket, next time you click on the basket it will still be there). Session cookies are required for the Sites to function effectively but are not used in any way to identify you personally.

 

Permanent cookies: These cookies outlast user sessions and store a unique number on your hard drive in order to identify you as an individual user. No Personal Data is stored in permanent cookies. You can view permanent cookies by looking in the cookies directory of your browser installation. Travelstart uses permanent cookies to identify you between Site visits. For example, if you were browsing Cape Town hotels last time you were on the Site and Travelstart has a great hotel deal in Cape Town, it may use a permanent cookie to recognise you and show you this deal. These permanent cookies are not required for the Sites to work but may enhance your browsing experience.

 

Although you cannot block session cookies as they are required for the Sites to function correctly, your internet browser can be configured to reject permanent cookies and is dependent on the type of internet browser you use. Please refer to the relevant internet browser manufacturer’s website where you should be able to view the steps in rejecting these cookies if you wish to do so.

IP Address

Your Internet Protocol (‘IP’) address is usually associated with the place from where you access the internet, like your Internet Service Provider, your company or your university. Travelstart may use your IP address to help diagnose problems with its server, gather broad demographic information, and administer the Sites.

Data Protection Legislation

Travelstart’s head office and operations are based in South Africa, and it therefore operates in accordance with applicable South African data protection legislation.

Consent

By disclosing your Personal Data to Travelstart using the Sites or via email or telephone, YOU CONSENT TO the collection, storage and processing of your Personal Data by Travelstart (either physically or through the Sites) in the manner set out in this Privacy Policy. Some information and e-mails sent to Travelstart, via direct email or in response to its feedback system, may be used as testimonials on Travelstart’s communication channels (e.g. social media pages) or on the Website. In this event, no e-mail addresses or contact details will be displayed.

Opt-Out Policy

Travelstart’s newsletter subscribers have the option to opt-out of receiving further information from Travelstart. There is an “unsubscribe” link in the footer of each email you receive.  Alternatively, send an email to newsletter@travelstart.com to unsubscribe. The client may also contact us to unsubscribe to any of our marketing material.

Change/ Modification of E-mail Details

To change your e-mail address details, send an e-mail with your correct details to: info@travelstart.com

 

If you need to modify or change your Personal Data after you have made a purchase on the Sites please contact Travelstart as soon as possible.

Contact

If you have any questions or concerns about the information Travelstart holds about you, please do not hesitate to contact Travelstart on the relevant contact details set out on the Contact Us pages on the Sites.

Travelstart address: 7th Floor, 56 Shortmarket & Long Street, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa. Tel: 0861 878 278 (International: +27 21 468 4300)