Legal

Privacy Policy

Last updated: January 2025

My African Routes (“we”, “us”, “our”) is committed to protecting your personal data. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable South African law (POPIA).

1. Who We Are

My African Routes — Bespoke South Africa Travel Designer
Owner: Mary-Lou Pasquier Cocks
Email: travel@myafricanroutes.com
Website: myafricanroutes.com

2. Data We Collect

We collect personal data only when you voluntarily provide it to us, including:

  • Contact information: name, email address, phone number — when you submit a contact or quote request form.
  • Newsletter subscription: email address — when you subscribe to our newsletter.
  • Travel preferences: trip details, travel dates, group size, budget — when you request a bespoke itinerary.
  • Usage data: pages visited, time spent, device type, approximate location — collected automatically via analytics cookies (only with your consent).

3. How We Use Your Data

  • To respond to your travel enquiries and design bespoke itineraries.
  • To send our newsletter (only if you have subscribed).
  • To improve our website and understand visitor behaviour (analytics, with consent only).
  • To comply with our legal and contractual obligations.

4. Legal Basis for Processing

  • Contract: processing necessary to fulfil your travel design request.
  • Consent: newsletter subscription and analytics cookies — you may withdraw consent at any time.
  • Legitimate interest: improving our services and communicating with prospective clients.

5. Data Sharing

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

  • Third-party suppliers (hotels, lodges, transport providers) — only as needed to fulfil your booking.
  • MailPoet / email service providers — to send newsletters (data processed in accordance with their privacy policies).
  • Google Analytics — anonymised usage data, only with your consent.

6. Data Retention

We retain your personal data for as long as necessary to fulfil the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law. Contact and booking data is retained for up to 5 years after your trip. Newsletter data is retained until you unsubscribe.

7. Your Rights

Under GDPR, you have the right to:

  • Access the personal data we hold about you.
  • Correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
  • Delete your data (“right to be forgotten”).
  • Restrict or object to processing.
  • Data portability — receive your data in a machine-readable format.
  • Withdraw consent at any time, without affecting prior processing.

To exercise your rights, email us at travel@myafricanroutes.com. We will respond within 30 days.

8. Cookies

We use cookies to improve your experience. Please see our Cookie Policy for full details.

9. Security

We implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your data against unauthorised access, loss or disclosure. Our website uses HTTPS encryption.

10. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The current version is always published on this page with the date of last update.

For any privacy-related questions, contact us at travel@myafricanroutes.com.