PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE

TravelKS.com is owned and managed by Kansas Tourism (a division of the Kansas Department of Commerce) (collectively referred to herein as "KT" "us," “our” or "we"). TravelKS.com is hosted and maintained by a third-party vendor on its servers. In addition to these Sites, KT contracts with other third-party vendors to provide online services that may collect and process information on our behalf.

KT cares about your privacy, and we are committed to safeguarding your information collected through our Sites. This privacy policy is intended to clearly outline the policies and terms of use that apply to our Site and your use of the Site. If there is something you do not understand about our privacy practices, please feel free to contact Kansas Tourism at 1000 SW Jackson St. Suite 100, Topeka, KS  66612.

This privacy policy does not apply to products or services provided, or information obtained, other than through the Sites. We may change this policy from time to time, so please check back often. Remember that some of the services mentioned specifically in this policy may not be available at any given time, or on all of the Sites.

Information We Collect

There are three types of information that can be collected on our Site: (1) usage information; (2) non-personal information; and (3) personal information.

• Usage Information - When you visit and navigate around our Sites, use our applications or third-party sites, or open our emails, we may collect technical information about your use of our Sites including IP address, data about the device you are using, and viewing information. Viewing information we may collect includes the first page you land on, length of time on the site and number of pages you view. We use this data to understand traffic patterns to and on our Sites and to help us improve users' experiences. This information will only be used to learn how visitors to our Sites use our services and the site.

• Non-Personal Information - is data in a form that is not directly or indirectly associated with an identifiable person, but can be used to identify information such as a unique device identifier for a mobile phone or tablet, zip code, area code, state and country. We use this data to help us advertise and market our services, analyze the effectiveness of advertisements, and to better understand visitors to our Sites.

• Personal Information – This information identifies you as an individual and may include your name, address, email address, phone number, etc. KT does not collect or store any personal information that is not required by law or regulation and that you do not expressly provide.

If you request information from KT by filling out a form on one of our Sites, we may need your e-mail address, street address and/or phone number to respond. This information may be added to a KT database, but its use is limited to responding to your requests. We will not send you any additional emails beyond satisfying your request unless you expressly agree to receive these emails.

Emails to Kansas Tourism

Personally identifiable information contained in a request, question or comment sent to us in an e-mail message or in an online form submitted to us will only be used by our staff to respond to the request. KT may redirect the message to another government agency or person who is in a better position to address the email’s content.

Kansas Open Records Laws

KT does not sell, rent, or lease our customer lists to third parties. However, because we are a public institution, some information collected from our Sites may be subject to disclosure under open records laws enacted by the State of Kansas. Under Kansas open records laws, your personal information is afforded some, but not absolute, protection. There may be circumstances beyond our control when the law would require us to release some or all of your personal information that we have stored.

The Kansas Open Records Act (K.S.A. 45-230 (a) states: “No person shall knowingly sell, give or receive, for the purpose of selling or offering for sale any property or service to persons listed therein, any list of names and addresses contained in or derived from public records…” Specific exceptions are specified in K.S.A. 45-230.

Furthermore, K.S.A 45-230(b) states: “Any person subject to this section who knowingly violates the provisions of this section shall be liable for the payment of a civil penalty in an action brought by the attorney general or county or district attorney in a sum set by the court not to exceed $500 for each violation.”

How do we collect information from you?

Direct Collection

We collect much of the information listed above directly from you when you submit it on our Sites. This includes information such as registration information, contact information, user submissions, and public postings. If you do not want to share your information, you can choose to not participate in a particular service or activity.

Indirect Collection - Cookies and Other Technology

We use cookies on our Sites. A cookie is a small text file placed on your computer or mobile device by some web pages that you visit. When you visit the site again, the web server retrieves the cookie and reconfigures itself based on your profile and preferences, such as previous pages you visited and any information you provide via a form.

Cookies, by themselves, cannot be used to reveal or discover the identity of the individual user. Your acceptance of our cookies will not compromise your anonymity while using our Sites. Cookies enable us to identify your browser as a unique user. Cookies may involve the transmission of information from us to you and from you to us. The Help feature on most browsers will tell you how to prevent your browser from accepting new cookies, how to have the browser notify you when you receive a new cookie, or how to disable cookies altogether. Additionally, you can disable or delete similar data used by browser add-ons, such as Flash cookies, by changing the add-on’s settings or visiting the Site of its manufacturer. You may lose some features or functionality when you disable cookies.

Cookies generated by our Sites provide users with a personalized and an enhanced online experience. By assigning and storing a unique user name cookie on your computer or mobile device, we are able to offer you personalized collection, filtering, and delivery of information.

In some cases, cookies enable us to serve certain advertisements to you while you are visiting Kansas that we feel will be of the greatest interest and value to you. We also use cookies that record your general location based on your IP address and your interactions with our media to monitor how effective our media is at inspiring you to visit the state of Kansas. If you wish to opt out of cookies that allow us to serve KT advertisements while you are in Kansas and collect aggregate information on arrivals, click here.

Overall, aggregated usage information derived from cookies helps us improve our offerings by showing us how different areas of the site are being used.

Indirect Collection - Web Analytics

Like most standard websites servers, we track website analytics. Web analytics track internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks. We utilize this information to analyze trends, administer the Sites, prevent fraud, track website navigation in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use.

Indirect Collection - Social Networking

The Sites may permit you to use third-party social networking platforms such as Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, and Google+. This may include the use of social media plugins such as Facebook “Like”, Tweet, Pinterest “Pin,” Google “+1” buttons, etc. When you use these social networking platforms and plugins, your username and password for the available information about you or collected from you on these services may be shared with us. When you use social networking platforms and plugins, you share your information with them and their privacy policy applies to disclosure of such information. In addition, they may be able to collect information about you, including your activity or may notify your connections on the social networking platform about your use of our Sites. Such services may allow your activity to be monitored across multiple Sites for purposes of delivering more targeted advertising. Please note that the privacy policies of the social network platform providers will apply in those situations and we encourage you to read them. We may add new social networking plugins and buttons to our Sites from time to time.

Indirect Collection - Third Party Advertising Services

We may employ over time various different advertising or remarketing services that serve you targeted advertisements to make your online experience more focused to your interests. These services collect data through the DoubleClick cookie and through our implementation of Google Analytics and AdWords. These tools and technologies collect and analyze certain types of information, including cookies, IP addresses, device and software identifiers, referring and exit URLs, onsite behavior and usage information, feature use metrics and statistics, usage and purchase history, MAC Address, mobile unique device ID and other similar information.

We will not run interest-based advertising campaigns that collect personally identifiable information (PII) including, but not limited to, email addresses, telephone numbers and credit card numbers. We will not use or associate personally identifiable information with remarketing lists, cookies, data feeds or other anonymous identifiers. We will not use or associate targeting information, such as demographics or location, with any personally identifiable information collected from the ad or its landing page(s).

Other Important Information

Links to Third Party Sites

There are a few sections on our Sites that are hosted by various partners of KT. Some of these partners maintain the look and feel of our site or a segment of our site, and sometimes it may not be evident when a user is on one of these sections. These pages are governed by the partner's privacy policy and terms and conditions of use.

Electronic Newsletters

We may offer free, electronic newsletters as a service to our customers, based upon your voluntary subscription. You will only receive an electronic newsletter if you have requested it (opted-in). We do not allow third parties, including advertisers or partners, to send emails to our list.

Disclaimer and Release with Respect to Any Linked Site or Other Third Party

Any transaction that you enter into with any linked site or other third party via or as a result of viewing our Sites is solely between you and such linked site or other third party. By using our Sites, you understand and agree that KT has no responsibility for any other sites or third-party content or transactions. You further agree that you will hold KT harmless and not liable, and release KT from any all suits and/or claims, should you have any dispute over or problem with any such sites, site content or transactions.

How do we respond to Do Not Track signals?

Do Not Track (DNT) is a privacy preference that users can set in some web browsers to signal their preference regarding potential "tracking" by third party websites. While the United States Federal Trade Commission has endorsed DNT, our Sites do not currently support DNT codes. However, except as otherwise disclosed herein, our Sites limit tracking to the internal uses described above. Our Sites do not track your use across multiple websites, however, other websites to which we link may do so. Please review their privacy policies to understand how you may be tracked.

What security precautions are in place to protect against the loss, misuse or alteration of my information?

Providing security for the personally identifying information you submit via our Sites is a priority for us. We maintain administrative, technical and physical safeguards to protect your personal information. When we collect or transmit sensitive information such as a credit or debit card number, we use industry standard methods to protect that information. However, no e-commerce solution, website, database or system is completely secure or “hacker proof.” You are also responsible for taking reasonable steps to protect your personal information against unauthorized disclosure or misuse.

General Legal Notice and Disclaimer

References herein to any product or service offered by a linked site or other third party do not constitute or imply endorsement or recommendation by KT. While KT makes every effort to present accurate and reliable information on this site, KT does not approve or certify such information nor does it guarantee the accuracy, completeness, efficacy, timeliness or correct sequencing of such information.

Use of such information is voluntary and reliance on it should only be undertaken after an independent review of its applicability, accuracy, completeness, efficacy and timeliness with regard to the user's specific needs and purposes. KT (including its employees and agents) is not responsible for and expressly disclaims all liability for, damages of any kind arising out of use, reference to, or reliance on the information available through our Sites. No approvals, recommendations, endorsements, guarantees or warranties, including, but not limited to, any express or implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for any particular use or purpose of products or services named on this Internet site are made by KT.

Terms of Use

By visiting, using and/or submitting information to our Sites, you agree to the terms and conditions contained in this Privacy Policy and conditions of use and/or any other agreement that we might have with you. If you do not agree to any of these terms and conditions you should not use our Sites or any products or services offered by the KT, a linked site, or other third party discussed herein.

You agree that any dispute over privacy or the terms contained in this Privacy Policy and conditions of use, or any other agreement we have with you, will be governed by the laws of the State of Kansas.

Children's Personal Information

We recognize the importance of protecting privacy where children are involved. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information online from children under the age of 13. If a child under the age of 13 has provided us with personally identifiable information online, we ask that a parent or guardian contact us at:

Kansas Tourism

1000 SW Jackson St. Suite 100

Topeka, KS  66612

What else should I know about my privacy?

Please keep in mind that whenever you voluntarily disclose information online, that information may be accessible to other customers and users. Ultimately, you are solely responsible for maintaining the secrecy of your passwords and/or any account information. Please be careful and responsible whenever you are online.

When you or we end your customer relationship with us, we will treat the information we have about you as if you were still our customer.

Notices and Changes to Our Privacy Policy

As our services change from time to time, this Privacy Policy and conditions of use are expected to change. We reserve the right to amend the Privacy Policy and conditions of use at any time, for any reason, without notice to you, other than the posting of the amended Privacy Policy and conditions of use on our Sites.

It is your responsibility to check our Sites frequently to see the current Privacy Policy and conditions of use that are in effect and any changes that may have been made to them. The use of your information is subject to the Privacy Policy and conditions of use in effect at the most recent time of use. The provisions posted on this site and contained herein supersede all previous notices or policies regarding our privacy practices and the terms and conditions that govern the use of this site.

Questions Regarding Our Privacy Policy and Conditions of Use

If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy and conditions of use or the use of our Sites generally, please contact us via one of the following methods:

1000 SW Jackson St. Suite 100

Topeka, KS  66612

785-296-5403