Privacy Policy.

Who we are

VP Holidays Tours & Travels (“we”, “us”, “our”) is a tour operator and taxi service based in Thirthahalli, Shivamogga district, Karnataka, India. We run this website to share information about our holiday packages, Malnad weekend trips, vehicle rental and airport and railway transfers, and to let you contact us.

For the purposes of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (“DPDP Act”) and other applicable Indian law, we are the party that decides why and how your personal data is used.

Information we collect

1. Information you give us

• Enquiries and quote requests: your name, phone number, the service you want, travel date, pickup and drop locations, number of travellers, and anything you write in the “trip details” box.
• Bookings: passenger names, contact details, itinerary, and payment references. For some trips we may ask for an ID proof where the law, a permit or a third-party provider (for example a resort or a forest-area entry) requires it.
• Calls, WhatsApp chats and emails you send us, including any photos, documents or location pins you choose to share.

2. Information collected automatically

• Server logs kept by our hosting provider: IP address, browser and device type, pages requested, date and time, and referring page. These are used for security and keeping the site running.
• Analytics data, only if you allow analytics cookies: pages viewed, approximate location (city or region level, derived from IP address), device and browser details, how you arrived at the site, and how you interact with pages (clicks, scrolling, and, through Microsoft Clarity, anonymised session replays and heatmaps).

3. Information we do not collect

We do not collect card or bank details through this website. We do not run advertising or ad-retargeting cookies. We do not knowingly collect sensitive categories of data such as health or religion; please do not include them in free-text fields.

How we use it

• To reply to your enquiry, prepare a quote, and arrange and confirm your trip, vehicle, pickup or transfer.
• To contact you about your booking: confirmations, driver and vehicle details, changes, delays and feedback.
• To keep accounting, tax and legal records.
• To keep the website secure and prevent spam or misuse.
• To understand which pages are useful and fix problems, using analytics, and only if you agree.
• To comply with legal obligations and respond to lawful requests from authorities.

We do not sell your personal data. We will only send you promotional messages if you have asked for them, and you can tell us to stop at any time.

Consent and lawful use

When you send us an enquiry, you are voluntarily giving us your details so we can respond, and we use them for that purpose. For analytics cookies we ask for your consent through the cookie banner, and you can change your mind at any time on the Cookie Settings page. We may also process data where the law allows or requires it, for example to keep tax records or respond to a legal notice.

Enquiries: WhatsApp and our CRM

The forms on this website (the quote widget and the enquiry form) are designed to hand your enquiry to us in one of two ways, depending on how we have set the site up at the time:

1. WhatsApp. Your details are placed into a pre-filled WhatsApp message, and WhatsApp opens on your device so you can review and send it to our business number. Nothing is sent until you press send in WhatsApp. Once sent, the message is handled by WhatsApp (Meta Platforms) under its own terms and privacy policy, as well as by us.
2. Our booking system (CRM). Your details are sent securely to our own customer-relationship system, where our team records, tracks and follows up the enquiry. We may then contact you by phone, WhatsApp or email.

In both cases the information you submit is used only to respond to you and manage your trip, as described in this policy. Only our staff who need it can access it.

Please only enter details that you are comfortable sharing, and avoid putting payment card numbers, passwords or one-time passwords (OTPs) in any message.

Who we share it with

We share personal data only as needed to provide the service, and only with:

• Drivers and operators assigned to your trip: your name, phone number, pickup point and trip details.
• Hotels, homestays, resorts, guides and ticketing providers that we book for you, with the details they need to confirm your stay or entry.
• Service providers that run our website and tools:
  • Hostinger (website hosting and servers).
  • Google (Google Tag Manager and Google Analytics).
  • Microsoft (Microsoft Clarity).
  • WhatsApp / Meta Platforms (messaging).
  • Our CRM, email and payment or accounting tools, where used.
• Professional advisers, banks and authorities where required by law, or to protect our rights, our passengers or others.

If the business is ever sold or reorganised, personal data may be transferred to the new owner on the same terms as this policy.

Cookies and analytics

We use Google Tag Manager to load our analytics tools. Google Analytics (GA4) helps us see how many people visit and which pages they use. Microsoft Clarity records anonymised interaction data, such as clicks, scrolling and session replays, so we can find confusing parts of the site; we configure it to mask text typed into form fields.

These tools use cookies and similar technologies. They are off by default and switched on only if you accept analytics cookies. Full details, including every cookie and how long it lasts, are in our Cookie Policy, and you can change your choice at any time on Cookie Settings.

Google and Microsoft act as independent service providers or controllers for the data their tools collect. See Google’s Privacy Policy and Microsoft’s Privacy Statement.

Storage and transfers outside India

This website is hosted by Hostinger. Our hosting, analytics, messaging and (if used) CRM providers may store or process data on servers located outside India, including in the United States and the European Union. We use providers that apply recognised security practices, and we transfer data outside India only as permitted by applicable law.

How long we keep it

• Enquiries that do not become a booking: generally up to 24 months, so we can follow up or answer a repeat enquiry, after which they are deleted or anonymised.
• Bookings, invoices and payment records: for as long as tax, accounting and other laws require (generally six years or more).
• Website analytics: Google Analytics event data is kept for up to 14 months. Microsoft Clarity keeps session recordings for a short period (typically about 30 days) and aggregated data for longer, according to its settings.
• Server logs: kept by our hosting provider for a limited period for security and troubleshooting.
• Your cookie choice is remembered for 180 days.

We delete or anonymise data sooner if you ask and we have no legal reason to keep it.

Security

We take reasonable steps to protect your data, including serving this website over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, limiting staff access, and using reputable hosting and software providers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a personal-data breach affecting you occurs, we will notify you and the authorities as the law requires.

Your rights

Under the DPDP Act, 2023 you have the right to:

• ask for a summary of the personal data we hold about you and who we have shared it with;
• ask us to correct, complete or update your data;
• ask us to erase your data when it is no longer needed for the purpose it was collected;
• withdraw your consent at any time (for cookies, use Cookie Settings; for anything else, contact us). Withdrawing consent does not affect what we did before you withdrew it;
• get your grievance addressed, and nominate another person to exercise these rights on your behalf if you die or become unable to; and
• complain to the Data Protection Board of India if you are not satisfied with our response.

To use any of these rights, write to us using the details below. We may need to verify your identity first, and we will respond within a reasonable time, normally within 30 days.

Children

This website is meant for adults planning travel. We do not knowingly collect personal data from anyone under 18 without the consent of a parent or guardian. Names of children travelling with a booking are collected from the adult making the booking. If you believe a child has sent us data without consent, contact us and we will delete it.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy when our services, tools or the law change. The “last updated” date at the top shows the current version. If a change is significant, we will say so on the website.

Contact and grievances

For any privacy question, request or complaint, contact us at:

We are open daily, 6am to 11pm. Please put “Privacy request” in the subject or first line of your message so it reaches the right person.