Privacy Policy – Hellosocotra

Last Updated: June 14, 2025

This Privacy Policy describes how Hellosocotra Tour Operator (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares your personal information when you visit our website www.hellosocotra.com (the “Site”) or book a tour package with us. We are committed to protecting your privacy and ensuring the security of your personal information.

1. Information We Collect

We collect various types of information from and about you, including:

Personal Information You Provide Directly:

Contact Information: Your full name, email address, phone number, and postal address.
Booking Information: Passport details (including passport number, date of issue/expiry, place of issue – essential for visa applications, flight bookings, and local permits), date of birth, nationality, gender, dietary restrictions, medical conditions relevant to travel (e.g., allergies, mobility issues – only with explicit consent and for your safety and well-being during the tour), emergency contact information (name and phone number of a contact person).
Payment Information: While we do not directly store full credit card details on our servers, we collect information necessary to process payments securely through trusted third-party payment gateways (e.g., transaction ID, amount, billing address).
Communication Information: Records of your correspondence and interactions with us (e.g., emails, messages through our website chat, social media interactions).
Survey/Feedback Information: If you choose to participate in our surveys or provide feedback on your tour experience.
Marketing Preferences: Your preferences regarding receiving marketing communications from us.

Information We Collect Automatically:

Log Data: When you visit our Site, our servers automatically record information that your browser sends, such as your Internet Protocol (IP) address, browser type, browser version, the pages of our Site that you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, referring/exit pages, and other clickstream data.
Cookies and Tracking Technologies: We use cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons, pixels, and local storage) to track activity on our Site and hold certain information. Cookies are small data files placed on your device. They allow us to remember your preferences, analyze how our Site is used, and personalize your experience. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, if¹ you do not accept cookies, you may not be able to use some portions of our Site.

2. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect for various purposes, primarily to provide and improve our tour services, and for legitimate business operations:

To Provide and Manage Our Services:
- Processing your tour bookings, reservations, and payments.
- Communicating with you regarding your booking, pre-departure information, itinerary changes, and other essential travel details.
- Arranging necessary travel components such as flights (if included), accommodation, local transportation, permits, and activities in Socotra.
- Facilitating visa applications and local entry permits with relevant authorities (where applicable and with your explicit consent for passport/sensitive data).
- Providing personalized customer support and responding to your inquiries and requests.
- Ensuring your safety and well-being during the tour, including addressing any reported medical or dietary needs.
To Improve Our Services and Operations:
- Understanding how users interact with our Site to enhance user experience, content, and navigation.
- Analyzing trends, monitoring the effectiveness of our marketing efforts, and gathering demographic information for internal research and development of new tour packages.
- Troubleshooting and improving the functionality of our Site.
For Marketing and Promotional Purposes (with your consent where required):
- Sending you newsletters, updates about new tour packages, special offers, and promotions that may be of interest to you.
- Conducting market research and surveys to understand customer preferences.
- Displaying targeted advertisements on third-party platforms based on your interests and interactions with our Site.
For Legal Compliance and Security:
- Complying with legal obligations, applicable laws, regulations, and governmental requests (e.g., border control, immigration authorities, local Socotra government for permits).
- Protecting our rights, property, and safety, as well as the rights, property, and safety of our customers and others.
- Detecting, preventing, and addressing fraud, security incidents, and other illegal activities.

3. How We Share Your Information

We may share your personal information with the following categories of recipients, only to the extent necessary for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy:

Service Providers: We engage trusted third-party service providers who perform functions and provide services on our behalf. These may include:

Payment Processors: To securely handle your tour payments.
Local Suppliers in Socotra: Local guides, drivers, accommodation providers (hotels, guesthouses), boat operators, and other service providers essential for your tour experience.
Airlines/Transportation Companies: If your package includes flights or specific transport arrangements to/from or within Socotra.
Visa/Permit Agencies: To assist with visa applications and necessary local permits for your travel to Socotra.
IT Service Providers: For website hosting, data storage, and technical support.
Marketing and Analytics Providers: To help us understand website usage and manage marketing campaigns. These third parties are contractually obligated to protect your information and use it only for the purposes for which it was³ disclosed.

Governmental and Regulatory Authorities: We may disclose your information if required to do so by law, regulation, or in response to valid requests by public authorities (e.g., immigration authorities, security services for visa/permit processing, local Socotra administrative bodies).

In Case of Business Transfer: If Hellosocotra is involved in a merger, acquisition, asset sale, or bankruptcy, your personal information may be transferred as a business asset. We will provide notice before your personal information is transferred⁴ and becomes subject to a different Privacy Policy.

With Your Consent: We may⁵ share your information with other third parties when we have your explicit consent to do so.

4. International Data Transfers

As Hellosocotra serves customers from all over the world and is based in Socotra, Yemen, your personal information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in countries other than your country of residence, including Yemen. These countries may have data protection laws that are different from or less stringent than the laws of your country.

We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with⁶ this Privacy Policy and applicable data protection laws.⁷ Where required by law (e.g., for transfers of personal data from the European Economic Area (EEA) to countries not deemed to provide an adequate level of data protection), we will implement appropriate safeguards, such as Standard Contractual Clauses⁸ (SCCs) approved by the European Commission, to protect your data.⁹

5. Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and and organizational measures to protect the security and confidentiality of your personal information, both during transmission and once we receive it. These measures include:

Using secure servers and encryption (SSL/TLS) for data transmission over our website.
Implementing access controls and authentication mechanisms to restrict unauthorized access to personal data.
Regularly reviewing our security practices and updating them as necessary.
Training our staff on data protection best practices and maintaining data confidentiality.

However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.¹⁰ To determine the appropriate retention period for personal data, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the personal data, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your personal data, the purposes for which we process your personal data and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and the applicable legal requirements.

7. Your¹¹ Data Protection Rights

Depending on your location and applicable data protection laws (e.g., GDPR for EU residents, CCPA for California residents), you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

Right to Access: You have the right to request copies of your personal¹² data we hold about you.
Right to Rectification: You have the right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate¹³ or complete information you believe is incomplete.
Right to Erasure (“Right to be Forgotten”): You have the right to request that we erase your personal data under certain conditions¹⁴ (e.g., when the data is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected).
Right to Restrict Processing: You have the right¹⁵ to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data under certain conditions (e.g., if you contest the accuracy of¹⁶ the data).
Right to Object to Processing: You have the right to object to our processing of your personal data under certain conditions (e.g., for direct marketing purposes).
Right to Data Portability: You have the right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.
Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on your consent to process your personal information, you have the right to withdraw that consent at¹⁷ any time. This will not affect the lawfulness of any processing carried out before you withdraw your consent.
Right to Lodge a Complaint: If you¹⁸ are in the European Union, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority if you believe your data protection rights have been violated.¹⁹

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us²⁰ using the contact details provided in the “Who We Are” section above. We will respond to your request in accordance with applicable law.

8. Children’s Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information²¹ from children under 18. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from a child²² under the age of 18 without verification of parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our²³ servers.

9. Links to Other Websites

Our Site may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us. If you click on a third-party link, you²⁴ will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit. We have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services.

10. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time to²⁵ reflect changes in our practices or for other operational, legal, or regulatory reasons. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on²⁶ this page and updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this Privacy Policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically²⁷ for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

11. Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy²⁸ or our data practices, please contact us.