Privacy Policy

The data controller responsible for your personal information is:

These company details correspond with those provided in our Terms & Conditions.

The information we collect depends on how you interact with us and the services you request.

We may collect:

• your name, email address, telephone number and country of residence;
• information submitted through our contact, enquiry and Design My Trip forms;
• travel dates, destinations, group size and travel preferences;
• accommodation, activity, dietary and other travel preferences;
• passport, identification or other travel-document information when required to arrange a service;
• information about other travellers included in your booking;
• accessibility, dietary, health or mobility information that you choose to provide where relevant to the safe and appropriate organisation of your trip;
• booking history and communications with our team;
• payment and transaction information;
• newsletter and marketing preferences;
• photographs or videos provided to us or taken during a trip, subject to the conditions described below; and
• technical information generated when you use our website, such as IP address, browser/device information, website interactions and cookie identifiers.

Please provide information about another traveller only where you are authorised to do so.

We may collect personal information when you:

• make an enquiry;
• complete a Design My Trip or other website form;
• request a quotation or itinerary;
• make a booking;
• communicate with us by email, telephone or WhatsApp;
• make a payment;
• subscribe to our newsletter;
• participate in one of our tours;
• provide feedback, photographs or reviews; or
• browse or interact with our website.

Some technical information may also be collected through cookies and similar technologies. More information is provided in our separate Cookie Policy.

We use personal information where necessary to operate our business and provide the travel services you request.

This may include:

• responding to enquiries;
• designing personalised itineraries and preparing quotations;
• confirming and administering bookings;
• arranging accommodation, transport, guides, activities, meals and other travel services;
• communicating important information before, during and after your trip;
• processing payments and maintaining financial records;
• providing assistance and support while you travel;
• managing changes, cancellations, complaints and requests;
• complying with legal, accounting and regulatory obligations;
• maintaining and improving our services;
• protecting our website and business against misuse or fraud;
• analysing how visitors use our website;
• measuring the effectiveness of our advertising; and
• sending marketing communications where permitted by law and according to your preferences.

We do not sell your personal information to third parties.

Depending on the circumstances, we process your personal data because:

It is necessary to provide a contract or requested service.

For example, when you book a tour and we need your information to reserve hotels, transport or activities.

It is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract.

For example, when you ask us to prepare a personalised itinerary or quotation.

We have a legal obligation.

For example, certain accounting, tax or regulatory requirements.

We have a legitimate business interest.

For example, improving our services, maintaining customer relationships, protecting our business and understanding how our website performs, where those interests do not override your rights.

You have given us consent.

For example, where consent is required for certain marketing communications, advertising technologies or the processing of particular information.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time, although this does not affect processing that was lawful before withdrawal.

Travel arrangements often require us to provide relevant traveller information to the businesses delivering parts of your trip.

Depending on your itinerary, this may include:

• hotels and other accommodation providers;
• local guides;
• drivers and transport companies;
• activity and adventure providers;
• boat operators;
• restaurants;
• wineries and agritourism businesses;
• local destination partners; and
• other suppliers necessary to deliver your itinerary.

We share only the information reasonably necessary to arrange or provide the relevant service.

For example, a hotel may require your name for a reservation, while certain activities or border-related services may require additional identification information.

Where card payments are processed through Stripe, payment information is handled through Stripe's secure payment infrastructure.

Up Albania may receive information relating to the transaction, such as the payer's name, payment status, amount, date and transaction reference. We do not need to store your complete payment-card details when these are processed directly by the payment provider.

Payments made by bank transfer are also subject to the privacy and security practices of the relevant financial institutions.

In addition to travel suppliers, we may use trusted service providers to support our business.

These may include providers of:

• website hosting and technical services;
• customer relationship management (CRM) systems;
• email and newsletter services;
• payment processing;
• accounting and administration;
• website analytics;
• advertising and marketing;
• cloud storage;
• communications and messaging; and
• security and fraud prevention.

We may also disclose personal information where required by law, regulation, court order or a competent public authority.

Our service providers may process personal information only for appropriate purposes and subject to applicable data-protection requirements.

Up Albania organises trips in Albania and across the Balkans and surrounding region, including Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Greece/Corfu, Serbia and Italy.

When your itinerary includes another country, it may be necessary to provide relevant personal information to hotels, guides, transport companies, activity providers or other suppliers in that destination.

Some of our technology providers may also process or store information outside Albania.

Where personal data is transferred internationally, we take appropriate steps required by applicable data-protection law to ensure that the transfer is lawful and that suitable safeguards are used where necessary.

Albania's current data-protection framework expressly regulates international transfers, and the Albanian Commissioner supervises this area.

Our website uses technologies that help us understand how visitors use the website and measure the effectiveness of our advertising.

These include:

• Google Analytics — helps us understand website traffic, pages visited and how visitors interact with our website.
• Google Ads — helps us measure advertising performance and understand whether advertising leads to enquiries or bookings.
• Meta Pixel — helps us measure the effectiveness of advertising on Meta platforms and understand interactions between our website and advertising campaigns.

Where required, non-essential analytics and advertising technologies are activated according to your cookie choices.

Detailed information about cookies, tracking technologies and how to manage your preferences is provided in our separate Cookie Policy.

If you subscribe to our newsletter or otherwise agree to receive marketing communications, we may use your contact information to send you travel inspiration, new tours, destination information, special offers and other Up Albania news.

You can unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe option contained in our marketing emails or by contacting us.

Unsubscribing from marketing does not prevent us from sending essential communications relating to an enquiry, existing booking or trip.

We may use a customer relationship management system to organise enquiries, quotations, bookings and communications.

This helps our team maintain the information necessary to assist you throughout the planning and travel process.

Information may include your contact details, previous communications, travel preferences, quotations, itinerary information and booking history.

If you choose to communicate with Up Albania through WhatsApp or another third-party messaging service, information exchanged through that service may also be processed by the relevant platform according to its own privacy terms.

WhatsApp is frequently used by our team to communicate with travellers before and during their trips, particularly for practical travel assistance and updates.

You may choose to contact us by email instead if you prefer not to use WhatsApp.

Our website may contain services or content provided by third parties, including Google Maps for location information and Google reCAPTCHA or similar security technology to protect forms and the website from spam and automated abuse.

When you interact with these services, technical information may be transmitted to the relevant provider.

Where required, their activation will be managed according to your consent and cookie preferences.

Photographs and video may be taken during our tours to document travel experiences and, where appropriate, for Up Albania's website, social media and promotional materials.

If you do not wish to appear in promotional photography or video, please inform us and/or your guide.

Where you voluntarily send photographs or videos to Up Albania for promotional use, their use will be governed by the permission provided and our applicable Terms & Conditions.

Our existing Terms & Conditions also address photography and promotional material and allow travellers to contact us if they wish to be exempted.

Occasionally, you may provide information concerning dietary requirements, allergies, health, mobility or accessibility because it is relevant to your trip.

We will only use such information where necessary to assist with your travel arrangements, safety or requested accommodations and in accordance with applicable data-protection requirements.

Please provide only information that is relevant to the organisation of your trip.

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to meet applicable legal, accounting, tax and regulatory requirements.

Retention periods may therefore differ depending on the type of information.

For example, booking and financial records may need to be retained longer than an unsuccessful enquiry or a marketing preference.

When information is no longer required, we take appropriate steps to delete, anonymise or securely dispose of it.

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures designed to protect personal information against accidental loss, unauthorised access, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

Access to personal information is limited to people and service providers who reasonably need it to perform their responsibilities.

However, no internet transmission or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

Depending on the circumstances and applicable law, you may have the right to:

• request information about how your personal data is processed;
• request access to your personal data;
• request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information;
• request deletion of personal data where applicable;
• request restriction of processing;
• object to certain processing;
• request portability of certain personal data where applicable;
• withdraw consent where processing is based on consent; and
• lodge a complaint with the competent data-protection authority.

Albania's Commissioner for the Right to Information and the Protection of Personal Data is the independent authority responsible for supervising implementation of the country's personal-data protection legislation.

To exercise a privacy right relating to information held by Up Albania, please contact us at info@upalbania.com.

We may need to verify your identity before completing certain requests.

Our tours may include children travelling with parents, guardians or organised family groups.

Where information about a child is required to arrange travel services, we expect it to be provided by or with the authority of the child's parent, guardian or person responsible for the booking.

We use such information only as reasonably necessary to organise and provide the relevant travel services and meet applicable legal requirements.

Our website may contain links to external websites or services.

Up Albania is not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites. We encourage you to review their privacy information when you leave our website or use their services.

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for essential website functionality and, depending on your choices, analytics and advertising.

Because we use technologies including Google Analytics, Google Ads and Meta Pixel, we maintain a separate Cookie Policy explaining the categories of cookies and tracking technologies used and how you can manage your preferences.

You can also change your choices through the Cookie Settings available on our website.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, website technologies, business practices or legal requirements.

The latest version will always be published on this page together with the date it was last updated.