Privacy Policy

WEST VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM

Last Update: 2023-05-22

SCOPE

The West Virginia Department of Tourism (“Department”) regards the privacy and security of user information as a critical component of the service that we offer to our users. Other State entities may have separate and additional privacy policies. To review the State of West Virginia’s privacy policy, click here.

PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

“Personally identifiable information” is information about a person that is readily identifiable to that specific individual (e.g., name, e-mail address, IP address, or phone number).

Personally identifiable information will not be disclosed for any unlawful or prohibited purpose. The Department uses two third-party web service vendors to operate and maintain its online platforms. The privacy policies for Typeform, Microsoft Clarity, Salesforce and Facebook can be found by clicking the company name. Some personally identifiable information may be collected to improve the Department’s services. When you access the Department’s website, send an email, or submit an online form, you consent to the use of your information for lawful purposes.

The West Virginia Freedom of Information Act protects certain personal information from being disclosed to the public. See W. Va. Code. § 29B-1-1 et seq. Unless specifically protected under state law, any information provided may be inspected by the public or disclosed in a legal proceeding. Any Information collected may be combined with information obtained from other Executive Branch Departments.

NON-PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

The following non-individual specific information, as defined in the State of WV’s policy, may be collected by visitors to the Department’s website: date, time, client IP, server IP, HTTP status, HTTP request URL, bytes sent, bytes received, user agent, referrer, protocol version.

This information is collected to improve the content of our web services and help us understand how people are using our services. The Department does not attempt to link this statistical information to specific individuals.

USES OF INFORMATION

We use personal information for purposes that relate to the reason you provide it. If information is used for another purpose, we will obtain your permission.

For the reason you provided the information, or as required by law, we may share your information with other state and federal agencies as well as others we have hired to assist us.

We may use non-personal information for purposes related to improving our business practices.

COOKIES

To better serve you, the user, we use cookies for certain types of online transactions. Cookies are small text files that a web server may ask your web browser to store, and to send back to the web server when needed. Cookies may be used to store a transaction identifier or other information a user may provide. We use cookies through our third-party vendors.

YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES

If you have consented to an electronic exchange of information, you may cancel that consent by following the instructions in the email you receive.

SECURITY

All personal information and non-personal information are stored through a third-party vendor, mentioned above. Some of the applications serving the public are hosted on different servers that have additional security measures, depending upon the type of information required and obtained.

Agencies processing credit card information are required to be compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS).

HOW TO CONTACT US

For more information on our privacy policy, please contact us at tourisminfo@wv.gov.

Sharing of Information

The Department does not sell or rent your personal information to third parties for marketing purposes. We may share your personal information with other state agencies for the purposes of data processing or storage.

The Department may collect and potentially share personal information and any other additional information available to us to investigate, prevent or act regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any persons, violations of the Department’s terms of use, potential threats to national security, or as otherwise required by law.

Some of your non-personal information may be shared on an aggregate basis only, as a part of a larger set of statistics.

Security

Information collected by the Department is stored in secure operating environments not accessible to the public. All our employees are dedicated to maintaining and upholding your privacy and security and are aware of our privacy and security policies.

Children’s Privacy

In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, children under the age of 13 are not eligible to use services that require the submission of personal information and should not submit any personal information to us. If you are under 13 years of age, you can use these services only if used together with your parent or guardian.

The Department does not knowingly obtain, retain, or use information from anyone under the age of 13.

Other Websites and Links

The Department’s website may contain links to other websites that are third-party sites not operated by the Department, including websites operated by Department’s, partners, affiliates, and vendors. Please note that the privacy practices of those other sites and of our partners, affiliates, and vendors are not covered by this privacy policy, and we are not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such sites, partners, affiliates, or vendors.

Modification of Privacy Policy

The Department reserves the right to change or update this privacy policy at any time. The changes to the privacy policy will be posted on this site, so check the privacy policy frequently to stay informed.

Anti-Spam Policy

The Department prohibits the use of its services, directly or indirectly, for the transmission, distribution, or delivery of any unsolicited or bulk commercial e-mail (“Spam”). You may not use any Department services to send Spam. You may not deliver Spam or cause Spam to be delivered to any of the Department’s services or registered users.

Links

This site may contain hyperlinks to other sites. We do not control the information on these sites. Such links are provided for convenience and/or information only. Offering a link does not imply endorsement of any offering on the linked site.

Database Policy

The Department’s website includes directories of businesses, real estate, events, amenities, attractions, providers, licensees, and organizations. The Department is not responsible for any inaccurate information included in any of the directories.