Privacy Policy

1. Company Information

Company Name: Aknaf Alsawary

Trading As: Aknaf Al Sawary – Your Premier Local Iraq Travel Agency

Website: https://aknafalsawary.com

Country of Operation: Republic of Iraq

Phone / WhatsApp: +964-780-923-7616

Email: info@aknafalsawary.com

As a travel agency that markets to, and processes data of, individuals located within the European Economic Area (EEA) and the United Kingdom, Aknaf Alsawary is subject to the obligations of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) (EU) 2016/679 in respect of those individuals.

2. Introduction

At Aknaf Alsawary, we are committed to protecting your personal data and respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, share, and protect your personal information when you visit our website, make an enquiry, book a tour, or otherwise interact with us.

Please read this policy carefully. By using our website or submitting your personal information to us, you acknowledge the practices described in this policy.

3. Data Controller

For the purposes of the GDPR, Aknaf Alsawary is the Data Controller of your personal data. This means we determine the purposes and means of processing your personal information.

Data Controller: Aknaf Alsawary

Contact for data matters: info@aknafalsawary.com

Phone: +964-780-923-7616

If you have any questions about this policy or our data practices, please contact us at the details above.

4. What Personal Data We Collect

We may collect and process the following categories of personal data:

4.1 Data You Provide to Us

Full name
Email address
Phone number (including WhatsApp number)
Nationality and passport details (where required for tour or visa facilitation)
Travel dates, preferences, and itinerary details
Dietary requirements or health considerations relevant to your tour (special category data – processed only with your explicit consent)
Payment information (processed securely via third-party payment providers)
Communications and correspondence with our team

4.2 Data Collected Automatically

IP address
Browser type and version
Pages visited and time spent on our website
Referring URLs
Cookie identifiers (see Section 10 – Cookies)

4.3 Data from Third Parties

Reviews or ratings submitted on TripAdvisor or similar platforms
Data from travel agency partners who engage us as a Destination Management Company (DMC)

5. How We Use Your Personal Data

We use your personal data for the following purposes:

To respond to tour enquiries and provide you with quotations
To process tour bookings and arrange itineraries
To facilitate visa applications where requested
To communicate important information about your trip
To process payments and issue invoices
To send our newsletter and promotional content (only where you have opted in)
To improve our website and services
To comply with legal obligations
To manage and respond to complaints or disputes

6. Legal Basis for Processing

We process your personal data on the following legal bases under GDPR Article 6:

Contract (Art. 6(1)(b)): Processing is necessary to perform the tour booking contract with you or to take pre-contractual steps at your request.

Legitimate Interests (Art. 6(1)(f)): Processing is in our legitimate interests to improve our services, respond to enquiries, and maintain business operations, provided your interests do not override ours.

Legal Obligation (Art. 6(1)(c)): Processing is necessary to comply with applicable laws.

Consent (Art. 6(1)(a)): Where you have freely given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent – for example, newsletter subscription or use of special category data.

For special category data (e.g. health/dietary information), we rely on your explicit consent under GDPR Article 9(2)(a).

7. How We Share Your Data

We do not sell your personal data. We may share your data with:

Accommodation providers, airlines, and local guides necessary to fulfil your tour
Payment processors (who process payments on our behalf under their own security standards)
International travel agency partners who have engaged us as their Iraq DMC
Iraqi government authorities where required for visa or entry formalities
Our email and newsletter service providers (e.g. MailPoet)
IT service providers who support our website and operations
TripAdvisor (for review functionality)

All third parties are required to handle your data securely and in accordance with applicable data protection law. Where we transfer data outside the EEA, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place (such as Standard Contractual Clauses under GDPR Article 46).

8. Data Retention

We retain your personal data only for as long as necessary for the purposes set out in this policy or as required by law. Our general retention periods are:

Tour booking records: 7 years (for accounting and legal purposes)
General enquiry data: 2 years from last contact
Newsletter subscriber data: Until you unsubscribe
Website analytics data: 13 months (rolling)

When data is no longer required, it is securely deleted or anonymised.

9. Your Rights Under GDPR

If you are located in the EEA or UK, you have the following rights in relation to your personal data:

Right of Access (Art. 15): You may request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.

Right to Rectification (Art. 16): You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete data.

Right to Erasure (Art. 17): You may ask us to delete your data where there is no legitimate reason for us to continue processing it.

Right to Restrict Processing (Art. 18): You may ask us to suspend processing of your data in certain circumstances.

Right to Data Portability (Art. 20): You may request a machine-readable copy of your data to transfer to another service.

Right to Object (Art. 21): You may object to our processing of your data based on legitimate interests, including direct marketing.

Right to Withdraw Consent: Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw it at any time without affecting prior lawful processing.

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@aknafalsawary.com. We will respond within 30 days. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection supervisory authority.

10. Cookies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies. Cookies are small text files placed on your device to help our website function properly and to analyse usage.

10.1 Types of Cookies We Use

Strictly Necessary Cookies: Essential for the website to operate (e.g. session management). These cannot be disabled.
Analytics Cookies: Help us understand how visitors use our website (e.g. pages visited, time on site). These are only set with your consent.
Marketing/Newsletter Cookies: Used by our newsletter subscription service (MailPoet) to track engagement. Only active if you subscribe.

10.2 Managing Cookies

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings. Disabling certain cookies may affect the functionality of our website. For more information about cookies, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

11. Data Security

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data against accidental loss, destruction, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. These include:

SSL/TLS encryption on our website (HTTPS)
Access controls limiting who can access personal data
Secure payment processing via third-party PCI-DSS compliant providers
Regular review of our data handling practices

While we take all reasonable steps to protect your data, no transmission over the internet is completely secure. You provide information at your own risk.

12. Children’s Privacy

Our website and services are not directed at children under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal data from children. If you believe we have inadvertently collected data about a child, please contact us immediately at info@aknafalsawary.com and we will delete it.

13. Third-Party Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including TripAdvisor and social media platforms. This Privacy Policy applies only to our website. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of any third-party sites, and we encourage you to review their policies.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Any changes will be published on this page with an updated effective date. We encourage you to review this policy periodically. Where changes are significant, we will notify you by email (if you have provided one).

15. Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us:

Aknaf Alsawary – Iraq Travel Agency