This privacy notice explains what happens with any personal data we gather from you when you visit newcastlegateshead.com, whether you're planning a trip, booking an experience, signing up for travel updates, or simply browsing for inspiration.
This notice applies to you if you are:
We recognise our obligations under data protection legislation and are strongly committed to keeping your personal data safe and secure. We reserve the right to amend this privacy notice from time to time. Where we make material changes, we will notify you directly rather than relying solely on a website update.
If you visit a website operated by a third party through a hyperlink on our website, such as a booking partner or social media platform, your information may be used differently by the operator of that linked website.
Experience North East England is the data controller responsible for your personal data.
Our registered address:
Registration number with the Information Commissioner's Office: Z6329568
If you have any questions regarding this notice or how we process personal data, please contact our Data Protection Representative:
In connection with your visit to our website or your dealings with us, we will gather the following information:
We do not routinely collect special category data (such as health, ethnicity or religious information). Where we do (for example, if you tell us about a disability to enable reasonable adjustments at an event or attraction), we will handle it with additional care and seek your explicit consent. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children under 13.
We collect data about you from the following sources:
The security of your data is very important to us. We use strict and up-to-date security methods to keep your personal data secure and to prevent unauthorised or unlawful access, and against accidental loss of or damage to personal data. All information you provide is stored on secure servers and in secure filing systems.
We have in place policies, procedures and technologies to maintain the security of all personal data from collection through to destruction. We ensure your personal data is only accessible by those who need it for their specific role and who have agreed to keep it confidential. We will only transfer personal data to a third party if that party agrees to comply with our procedures and policies, or implements adequate technical and organisational measures themselves.
In the event of a personal data breach, we will notify the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, where required by law. Where a breach is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, we will also notify you directly without undue delay.
We will usually only process your personal data where you have given your consent or where processing is necessary:
Where we process your data on the basis of legitimate interests, we have carried out a Legitimate Interests Assessment (LIA). You may request a copy of any relevant LIA by contacting us at the address above. You also have the right to object to processing based on legitimate interests. If you do so, we must cease processing unless we can demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds that override your interests, rights and freedoms, or that processing is required for legal claims.
If you are volunteering, we may use your data for accreditation, scheduling, notifying you of shifts, and contacting an emergency contact you have provided if necessary. This information may also be shared with delivery partners when required.
We may rely on your consent in certain circumstances, including:
If you have given consent to processing your personal data, you have the right to withdraw that consent at any time. To do so, contact us using the details in the 'Who We Are' section above.
We use the data we collect to help us operate efficiently and improve your experience of planning and enjoying a visit to NewcastleGateshead. This may include:
We do not disclose information about identifiable individuals to our advertisers, but we may provide them with aggregated, anonymised information about our website users. We may use data we have collected to enable us to display relevant advertising to target audiences.
If you visit our website but do not complete any forms, we will not make routine use of your personal data other than in statistical, anonymised form through Google Analytics. Unless you complete a form, we cannot generally identify you as an individual. Please note we currently use Google Analytics in its standard configuration. If you wish to opt out of analytics tracking, you can use the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on or adjust your cookie preferences via our cookie banner.
We will keep the personal data we store about you accurate and up to date, and take every reasonable step to erase or rectify inaccurate data without delay. Please tell us if your personal details change or if you become aware of any inaccuracies in the data we hold about you.
Marketing contact data
Event attendee data
Competition and prize draw entries
Enquiry and correspondence records
Supplier and partner records
Volunteer records
Website analytics data (anonymised)
Cookie consent records
Data will be securely destroyed or erased from our systems at the end of the applicable retention period. If you have a question about retention of a specific category of data, contact us using the details in the 'Who We Are' section.
Under UK GDPR you have the right to:
To exercise any of the above rights, please make your request in writing to the address in the 'Who We Are' section. We will respond within one calendar month. Some rights are restricted in certain circumstances, and we will explain any such restriction when we respond.
Our employees who need to access your data will do so in order to provide services to you. All employees receive annual data protection training and understand the requirement to keep your information confidential.
If you book a tour, ticket or experience through our website, your booking and payment details will be shared with the relevant booking partner, such as FareHarbor, GetYourGuide or Viator, so they can fulfil your booking. We also use other third-party service providers (sub-processors) who process personal data on our behalf, for example for analytics, hosting and marketing. We carry out due diligence on all service providers and ensure we have a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) in place with each one. A full list of our current sub-processors and booking partners is set out in the 'Third-Party Processors and International Transfers' section below.
If you are a competition winner and have given your consent at the point of entry, your name may be published on our website or social media channels, depending on how the competition was run. We will not publish your name without this consent, and we will never publish your postcode or email address.
Other than to employees, our sub-processors and booking partners, we will not disclose your personal data to a third party without your consent, unless we are satisfied that they are legally entitled to the data.
We may disclose your personal data to third parties:
You are entitled to request details of the recipients of your personal data or the categories of recipients.
Following the UK's departure from the EU, data transfers are now governed by the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. We will not transfer your personal data outside the UK unless the transfer complies with the law, specifically unless:
The table below lists all third-party processors we currently use, the purpose of processing, the location of their servers, and a link to their own privacy policy. Where processors are based in the USA, transfers take place under the ICO's IDTA or equivalent approved safeguards.
Mailchimp (Intuit Inc.)
Eventbrite
Typeform
Google Analytics (GA4)
Google AdSense / Ad Tech Partners
Hotjar
Amazon Web Services (AWS)
Some personal data is also stored on cloud systems whose servers may be based outside the UK. We ensure all such arrangements include appropriate transfer safeguards. This list is reviewed and updated at least annually.
We may collect information about your device, including your IP address (where available), operating system and browser type, for system administration and to compile aggregated, anonymised statistics. This data does not identify any individual.
Our site uses cookies and similar tracking technologies. A cookie is a small file placed on your device that helps us distinguish you from other users, improve your browsing experience, and deliver a more personalised service.
We use the following categories of cookies and tracking technologies:
Our cookie banner gives you equally prominent options to accept or decline non-essential cookies. You can change your preferences at any time by revisiting the cookie settings on our website. Blocking some types of cookie may affect your experience of the site.
For full details of the cookies we use, the purposes they serve, and how long they last, please see our separate Cookie Policy.
In addition to information you provide when registering, we collect the following through our website analytics:
Website analytics data is collected via Google Analytics (GA4) and Hotjar, and is anonymised or pseudonymised before processing. We retain Google Analytics data for 26 months in line with Google's standard retention settings. You can opt out at any time using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, the Hotjar opt-out tool, or by adjusting your cookie preferences.
Pages on our website may include embedded content from third-party platforms such as YouTube, Vimeo, or social media channels. Embedded content behaves in the same way as if you had visited those other websites directly, and those websites may collect data about you, use cookies, embed additional tracking, and monitor your interaction with the content.
Where possible, we use privacy-enhanced embed options (such as YouTube's youtube-nocookie.com domain) to limit data collection. Please refer to the privacy policies of each third-party platform for details of how they handle your data.
Any complaints about our handling of personal information should be sent in the first instance to our Data Protection Representative using the contact details in the 'Who We Are' section. If your complaint relates to data held by an organisation with which we share information, please let us know.
We aim to respond to your complaint within 20 working days of receiving it. You have a right of appeal against any decision we make, which we will explain in our response. We review our policies and procedures in light of all justified complaints.
If you are not satisfied with our response, or you have concerns about our processing of your personal data, you have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO):
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