Privacy Policy

GoSafara Holidays ("we," "us," or "our") is committed to protecting the privacy and personal data of our customers. This Privacy Policy explains what personal information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights you have over your data. We operate in accordance with applicable data protection laws in the United Arab Emirates, including Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021 on the Protection of Personal Data.

This policy applies to all visitors and customers of gosafara.com and anyone who contacts us via phone, WhatsApp, email, or social media.

1. Personal Data We Collect

We collect personal data that you provide directly to us when you:

Submit a booking enquiry through our website's booking flow, search widget, or enquiry modal.
Contact us via phone, WhatsApp, email, or social media.
Subscribe to our newsletter or marketing communications.
Use our website — we automatically collect certain technical data (see Section 3 below).

The types of personal data we may collect include:

Full name (as it appears on your passport)
Mobile phone number and country code
Email address
Passport details (number, nationality, date of birth) — collected only at the booking confirmation stage and shared solely with travel suppliers
Travel preferences (destination, dates, number of travellers, cabin class, special requests)
Billing and payment information (processed securely through our payment providers; we do not store full card numbers)

2. Booking Information

When you submit a booking enquiry or proceed with a booking, we collect and process the following booking information:

Selected destination, package type, travel dates, and duration.
Number of adults and children travelling.
Departure city and preferred cabin class.
Special requirements and dietary preferences.
Itinerary details displayed at the time of booking.

This information is used to process your enquiry, prepare a quotation, confirm bookings with our suppliers, and communicate with you about your trip. We retain booking records for a minimum of seven (7) years for accounting, tax, and dispute resolution purposes.

3. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar tracking technologies on our website to enhance user experience, analyse traffic, and serve relevant marketing. Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit our website.

We use the following categories of cookies:

Essential cookies: Required for the website to function correctly (e.g., remembering your cookie preferences, session management).
Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our website so we can improve its performance and content.
Marketing cookies: Used to display relevant advertisements on third-party platforms based on your visit to our website.

For full details about the cookies we use and how to manage them, please see our Cookie Policy. You can accept or reject non-essential cookies through our cookie consent banner.

4. Analytics

We use third-party analytics tools to collect and analyse usage data from our website. These tools may include Google Analytics or similar services. The data collected is aggregated and anonymised where possible, and includes:

Pages visited, time spent on pages, and navigation paths.
Device type, browser, screen resolution, and approximate location (country/city level).
Traffic source (search engine, direct, referral, social media).

We use this data to improve our website's usability, content, and marketing effectiveness. We do not use analytics data to identify individual users personally.

5. Marketing Communications

We may use your contact information to send you marketing communications about holiday packages, promotions, and travel offers that we believe may interest you. We will only send marketing communications to you if:

You have provided your contact details through a booking, enquiry, or newsletter sign-up, and you have not opted out of marketing communications.
You have given explicit consent where required by applicable law.

You can opt out of marketing communications at any time by:

Clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any marketing email.
Replying "STOP" to any marketing SMS or WhatsApp message.
Contacting us at holidays@gosafara.com and requesting removal from our marketing list.

6. Data Storage and Security

We take the security of your personal data seriously. We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include:

SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted between your browser and our servers.
Secure storage of booking data in cloud databases with access controls and encryption at rest.
Payment processing through PCI-DSS compliant payment providers. We do not store full credit card numbers or CVV codes.
Restricted access to personal data — only authorised employees and contractors with a legitimate business need can access customer data.
Regular security reviews and staff training on data protection.

Your data may be stored on servers located outside the UAE (e.g., cloud hosting providers in the EU or US). We ensure that such transfers comply with applicable data protection laws and that adequate safeguards are in place.

7. Data Sharing

We do not sell your personal data to any third party. We share your data only with the following categories of recipients, and only to the extent necessary:

Travel suppliers: Airlines, hotels, ground operators, and tour companies receive the booking details needed to fulfil your travel arrangements (e.g., names, passport details, dietary requirements).
Payment providers: Tabby, Tamara, card processors, and banks receive payment authorisation data.
Service providers: Email delivery, analytics, and hosting providers may process data on our behalf under data processing agreements.
Legal authorities: Where required by law, court order, or government regulation.

8. Customer Rights

Under UAE data protection law and applicable regulations, you have the following rights regarding your personal data:

Right of access: You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
Right to rectification: You may request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
Right to erasure: You may request deletion of your personal data, subject to our legitimate business and legal obligations (e.g., tax records).
Right to restrict processing: You may request that we limit the processing of your data in certain circumstances.
Right to data portability: You may receive your personal data in a structured, machine-readable format.
Right to object: You may object to processing of your data for marketing purposes at any time.
Right to withdraw consent: Where we process data based on your consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at holidays@gosafara.com. We will respond to your request within 30 days.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, including legal, accounting, and dispute resolution requirements. General retention periods:

Booking records: 7 years (for tax and audit compliance).
Marketing data: Until you opt out or 3 years of inactivity, whichever is sooner.
Website analytics: 26 months (aggregated data may be retained longer).
Passport and travel document data: Deleted 90 days after completion of travel, unless required for legal compliance.

10. Children's Privacy

Our website and services are intended for individuals aged 18 and above. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe a child has provided personal data to us, please contact us immediately so we can delete it.

11. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. We will post the updated policy on this page with a revised "last updated" date. Material changes will be communicated to you via email or a prominent notice on our website.