Introduction
This notice describes the Privacy Policy for The Artisan Travel Company Ltd, trading as Activities Abroad, The Aurora Zone and Artisan Travel, with regards to the personal information collected from or about you on our websites or by any other means.
We will only use, collect and otherwise process your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection legislation.
This Privacy Policy will explain what personal data is collected, why it is collected, how the collected data is used and your options and rights regarding your personal data. From 25 May 2018 onwards, you and your personal data will be protected by the EU General Data Protection Regulation (which is otherwise known as GDPR) and a new UK Data Protection Act 2018. In this Privacy Policy, we refer to this legislation as data protection laws.
When we refer to personal data, we mean any information which relates to an identified or identifiable individual. Where we refer to process or processing, we mean anything which we may do with your personal data including collecting, storing, using, disclosing to third parties and erasing it.
Who are we
The Artisan Travel Company Limited is a privately-owned UK tour operator specialising in holiday travel.
Any personal data provided to or gathered by us is controlled by The Artisan Travel Company Ltd, a company registered in England at: Maling Exchange, Hoults Yard, Walker Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 1AB. Registered no. 04482022, ABTA No. Y6261, ATOL No. 6865, AITO No. 5180. We are therefore the data controller in respect of your personal data.
Data Protection
The Artisan Travel Company complies with the data protection laws of the United Kingdom. We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss or destruction of, or damage to, personal data, which is appropriate to the harm that might result from the unauthorised or unlawful processing or accidental loss, destruction or damage and the nature of the data to be protected, having regard to the state of technological development and the cost of implementing any measures.
We work very hard to keep the information you give us safe. We follow stringent security procedures on how your personal data is stored and used, and who sees it, to help stop any unauthorised person getting hold of it.
If you want to know exactly what information Artisan Travel Company holds about you, you can obtain it by requesting a Subject Access Request Form from The Artisan Travel Company at its registered office. This can be returned by post or e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. No fee will be charged for responding to this request unless it is obviously unfounded or excessive or we have previously provided the same information. We promise to respond to your request without delay and in any event within one month unless the request is complex, or you have made numerous requests in which case we may be able to extend our response time by a further two months.
Collection of Information and Data
In order to respond to an enquiry, provide a quote, administer and fulfil your booking or send you information or promotional material, we need to process personal data we obtain from you. This is likely to include the following:
A1 Contact Information including name, address, passport number, telephone number and email address
A2 Identity including gender, data of birth and nationality
A3 Passport Data
A4 Health Data including allergies, disabilities, medical conditions and restricted mobility
A5 Communication, including all records of communications. This includes, but is not limited to, email communication, online chats, reviews and posts on social media.
A6 Booking and Scheduling Data, including data regarding your booked holiday and excursions. This includes, but is not limited to, flight reservations, transfer reservations, hotel bookings, itinerary, and activities.
A7 Digital and Marketing Data, we collect data when you visit our website, including traffic data, booking history, social media trends and user behaviour. If you subscribe to our newsletters, we collect data on which newsletters you open and whether you accessed any links. Please view our Cookies Policy to see how we collect and regulate data online.
We will update your information whenever we can to keep it current, accurate and complete.
Special categories of personal data
Personal data which concerns your health, or which reveals your racial or ethnic origin, religious beliefs or your sexual orientation are special categories of personal data. Other information also comes within special categories, but this is unlikely to be relevant to the booking and provision of travel arrangements.
Generally speaking, the processing of special categories of personal data requires the explicit consent of the person concerned.
Accordingly, information concerning any disability, medical condition, restricted mobility or other health-related issues (and related requirements) as well as dietary restrictions which disclose your religious beliefs, or any health issue are special categories of personal data. We will ask for your consent to our processing this information at the time you make your booking or your booking enquiry or whenever you otherwise provide or indicate that you intend to provide such information.
Why we use your data
We use your data for the following reasons:
Booking and booking enquiries:
We use personal data to arrange, process and confirm bookings for your Artisan Travel Company holiday and to answer pre-booking enquiries. In order for you to travel abroad, it may be mandatory to disclose and process information. This will include data acquired from: A1, A2, A3, A4, A5. Please note, in order for us to make arrangements for your tour, we will need to disclose certain personal data to the suppliers of the services which make up your tour.
Activities:
If you have planned to take part in activities or excursions whilst on an Artisan Travel Company holiday we will use personal data to make the reservations and any necessary requirements for you. This will include data from A1, A4, A5 and A6. Please note, we may need to disclose your personal data to service providers to ensure you have the best experience possible. This is a prerequisite for your participation.
Communication:
We will need to process your personal data to contact you with important information relating to your travel plans and excursions with us. This includes information relating to departures, check-in times, and itineraries. This will require data from A1 and A5.
Marketing:
We will only retain and use your personal data for marketing purposes where you have specifically consented to this or we are permitted to do in accordance with data protection laws (including as set out below). You may opt-out of receiving marketing material from us at any time.
We may send you e-mail marketing where we comply with the Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003 (PECR). PECR permits us to e-mail you information about the travel services we offer where you have previously provided us with your e-mail address in the course of entering into a contract with us for holiday/travel arrangements or negotiations for such arrangements and we wish to e-mail you marketing material about our similar services or products. You will, of course, be given the opportunity to opt-out of receiving such e-mail marketing communications when you first provide us with your e-mail address and whenever we send you any e-mail marketing.
Where you have previously requested or agreed to receive information about our travel services from us by post, we may continue to send you such information in the same way until you ask us not to (which you can do by telephone, e-mail or post). Everything we send you will tell you what you should do if you no longer wish to hear from us. We will send you this information as this is necessary for the purposes of our legitimate interests in communicating with you unless it is or becomes clear that our interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms in which case we will cease communicating with you.
You may provide your consent to receiving marketing information from us by opting to receive marketing material either on-line or by telephone. You may also choose in what ways you are happy to receive communications from us. You may, for example, be happy to receive information and offers by post and e-mail but not by telephone.
Google Ads Customer Match
By using the Google Ads Customer Match tool, we may submit a secured database of e-mail addresses or phone numbers of our clients to Google tools. If you are a registered user of e.g., YouTube, Gmail or other websites from the Google group and your e-mail address or phone number is the same as the one you submitted while visiting websites from the Google group, you may be presented with sponsored messages about our offers, trends, special offers, sales or discount coupons. With this tool, we will not pass promotional information directly via your e-mail address or phone number. For more information on displaying advertisements according to the established customer list, visit: https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/7474263.
Mouseflow
This website uses Mouseflow: a website analytics tool that provides session replay, heatmaps, funnels, form analytics, feedback surveys, and similar features/functionality. Mouseflow may record your clicks, mouse movements, scrolling, form fills (keystrokes) in non-excluded fields, pages visited and content, time on site, browser, operating system, device type (desktop/tablet/phone), screen resolution, visitor type (first time/returning), referrer, anonymized IP address, location (city/country), language, and similar meta data. Mouseflow does not collect any information on pages where it is not installed, nor does it track or collect information outside your web browser. If you'd like to opt-out, you can do so at https://mouseflow.com/opt-out. If you'd like to obtain a copy of your data, make a correction, or have it erased, please contact us first or, as a secondary option, contact Mouseflow at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. For more information, see Mouseflow’s Privacy Policy at https://mouseflow.com/legal/company/privacy-policy/. For more information on Mouseflow and GDPR, visit https://mouseflow.com/legal/gdpr. For more information on Mouseflow and CCPA/VCDPA visit https://mouseflow.com/legal/ccpa.
Profiling
We may use and compile data for profiling purposes. Profiling is a processing of personal data which evaluates, analyses and predicts your interests and behaviours. This applies to data from A1, A2, A6, A7
How long will we store your data?
We will not process your personal data in a form which enables you to be personally identified for any longer than is necessary in order to fulfil the purpose for which it was originally collected or for any other legitimate business purpose.
Where your personal data has been provided for the purpose of the holiday arrangements or other services you have contracted, we are entitled to retain this data for a period of 6 years after those arrangements have been completed. In certain limited circumstances, we may be able to retain it for a longer period.
If you have consented to receive marketing communications from us, we may continue to use your personal data for this purpose until you withdraw your consent or otherwise for as long as we reasonably consider your consent remains valid and effective.
To withdraw from selected marketing communications, please contact our team at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
How we keep your information secure
The Artisan Travel Company takes the security of your personal data seriously. We use industry-standard security software to safeguard your data and follow strict internal procedures to restrict access to personal data and protect it.
Who else may see your data?
In order to respond to your holiday request or booking or send you marketing material, we may need to disclose certain personal data to third parties. These third parties include;
- Delivery companies such as Royal Mail.
- Suppliers and operators such as hotels, airlines, activity providers and car hire companies.
Personal data may also be provided to government/public authorities such as customs or immigration if required by them, or as required by law. Certain information may also be passed on to security or credit checking companies.
We only provide third parties with the personal data they require in order to deliver their services. Other than in relation to government/public authorities (over whom we have no control), we will take appropriate steps which are intended to ensure that anyone to whom we pass your personal data for any reason agrees to keep it secure, only uses it for the purposes of providing their services and does not collect any personal data from you in the course performing their services. Your personal data may be processed within the UK and/or any other country(ies) of the European Economic Area (EEA). EEA countries are all member states of the European Union together with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
We may also process personal data outside the EEA. Data protection laws may not be as strong outside the EEA as they are in the EEA. Personal data will not be transferred to a country outside the EEA unless (1) the country to which it is transferred is one which the European Commission considers to provide an adequate level of data protection or (2) the personal data is transferred to a company which is required by our contract with them only to deal with the data in accordance with our instructions and to maintain appropriate security to protect the personal data which we are satisfied they have or (3) we are obliged to provide the personal data to a government/public authority in order to provide your holiday.
Controlling your personal data
As previously stated, we will not sell or distribute your personal information or data to third parties, unless we have your permission or are required to do so by law.
You may contact us at any time if you wish to receive access to or rectify your data. You may choose to restrict the collection or use of your personal data in the following ways:
- You can unsubscribe using the links on our marketing emails or you may contact us to be removed from any or all marketing activity via email on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- You can update and request details of any personal information which we hold about you by contacting our team at any time on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
- You may ask us to erase personal data or information that we have collected in certain circumstances, for example where you have withdrawn your consent to further marketing material where the data in question has only been processed for this purpose. We must however keep data as necessary to fulfil our agreement with you and to comply with the law or on request from authorities. However, this is not always the case. Please see the above paragraph “How long will we store your data?”
If you are concerned that we may be holding data that is either incorrect, incomplete or inappropriate, we ask that you contact us as we may be able to provide you with answers and to correct potential misunderstandings.
Images and reviews
You have the option to send photographs to The Artisan Travel Company Ltd via email or your online account. We will not use images or reviews provided without consent, however, they may be used for product development purposes.
If consent is given, the material will be used for promotional purposes. This may include images and reviews being displayed on our websites or social media channels.
Artisan Travel Company employees or employees of partner companies that provide services to Artisan Travel Company may see your photos even if they are not published on the website as a result of carrying out maintenance on the website or correcting problems with your account.
Cookies
Our website uses cookies. There are small files that have a unique number that is placed on your device. This helps us to improve the way our website works, for example; by making sure users are finding what they need easily. The cookies we use also allow us to distinguish you from other users of the website which helps us to provide you with the best experience when you browse and search for trips on our website.
Cookies are important to use because it helps us make sure the site is working at its very best to give you the best service.
For more information on how we use cookies, please click here.
Updating of our Privacy Policy
We reserve the right to change this Privacy Policy to meet the requirements of our business or changes in the Data Protection Laws. If changes are made to the policy, the updated policy will be listed here on our website along with a revision date. This policy is effective from 25th May 2018.
What should I do if I have a complaint?
If you have any complaint about the way in which your personal data has been dealt with, please let us know by e-mail to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We will investigate and respond to you as soon as we reasonably can. If you remain dissatisfied, you may complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. For further details, see www.ico.org.uk
Contact information
If you would like to get in touch with Artisan Travel Company Ltd you can contact us here or by post at Maling Exchange, Hoults Yard, Walker Road, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE6 1AB.
Customer Reviews Page
Our Expert Team
Our philosophy for Activities Abroad from the very outset was to bring together a dedicated team of experts that, above all, shared the spirit of family adventure holidays. Our staff have joined the team and tried out the holidays, so they can talk to guests about the holiday destinations, accommodations, activities, and anything else you may need to know about your holiday, with hands-on experience.
We are a unique tour operator based in the Northeast of England, with an experienced travel team, with a diverse range of backgrounds, and loads of experience.
Introduction
Activities Abroad have been providing thrilling, yet safe, family activity holidays since 2002. In that time, we have developed a fantastic range of exciting, year-round, multi-activity holidays that we have gradually tweaked and improved over the years in response to our clients’ and our suppliers’ recommendations. As a result, we have won Best Small Family Holiday Company and Best Small Activity Holiday provider at the British Travel Awards for two consecutive years and last year, we took home Best Small Activity Holiday Company for the third year running! These awards are decided by public votes so we must be doing something right! Rather than rest on our laurels, we are continually striving to improve every single itinerary we feature.
A fantastic range of exciting, year-round, multi-activity holidays.
Naturally, our family holidays revolve around the school holidays and as a result, we offer both summer and winter trips designed specifically for active families. From multi-activity trips in Europe and further afield, to dog sledding and chasing the Northern Lights in Finnish Lapland, we offer exhilarating and unforgettable family holidays, which you will still be discussing around the dinner table for years afterwards.
Our expertise and experience in the activity holiday sector mean that we have built up a trusted range of suppliers in all the destinations we feature and as parents ourselves we cannot place enough emphasis on the safety and organisational sides of our trips.
First and foremost, we run strict and comprehensive safety checks on every element of your holiday. If we are going to send your family white water rafting or dog sledding then you can rest assured that you are doing so with the best in the business.
If we are going to send your family white water rafting or dog sledding then you can be rest assured that you are doing so with the best in the business.
Secondly, family holiday time is far too precious to waste getting organised in the destination. We remove all of the stress and tell you where you need to be and at what time each day; everything else is taken care of. There’s no need to traipse down to the local tourist office or scour the local activity providers for prices and durations and whatever else is required, we do that for you so that you can maximise your holiday time with your family.
That’s what we do best, we make sure that you share fabulous and safe experiences and return home with a host of wonderful family memories.
Activities Aboard – why choose us?
Here is our proud boast: we have seen teenage boys talking animatedly with their parents on our holidays. We know it sounds unbelievable but it is absolutely true!
So, apart from extracting more than just grunts from teenagers, where do we start?
Experience – we’ve been running family activity holidays since 2002.
Family – these holidays are created by families for families.
Awards – Best Family Holiday Company, Best Activity Holiday Company 2013 and 2014 and Best Activity Holiday Company 2015.
Age Matching – you can enquire about the age of the other children on the holiday that interests you. We will try our best to age match when possible but we can always provide the information beforehand, so you know who your kids will be having fun with.
Trust – we offer complete financial protection through ATOL and ABTA and proud members of AITO.
Safety – we check every supplier, every activity, every driver, every hotel and guesthouse. We leave no stone unturned.
Respect – our suppliers aren’t hard-nosed business people, they are our partners and good friends. We work together to provide great family holidays.
Fair Trade – we pay a fair price to our suppliers regardless of where we operate in the world. Basically, we look after the people who look after you.
Passion – you have no idea how much a “4 out of 5” review hurts us…we strive for perfection.
Independent – we are one of the few remaining independent adventure and activity companies.
Knowledge – we send as many of our staff as possible to as many destinations as possible because there is absolutely no substitute for experience or local knowledge. When you want to discuss a particular holiday, you can always talk to somebody who has been to the destination, slept in the hotel, enjoyed the activities, met the locals and sampled the food. Many of us take our children with us so we can give you a true family perspective.
Award-Winning Holidays
Our sincere apologies but sometimes it’s hard to not be a tad smug. The British Travel Awards are decided by public votes so we are absolutely bursting with pride to have won some of the most prestigious awards for three consecutive years! Let’s face it, when you are a Family Activity Holiday Company, these are the two awards you want to win the most.
The British Travel Awards are decided by public votes so we are absolutely bursting with pride to have won some of the most prestigious awards for three consecutive years!
Our free comparison service
Scour the market and a few other operators may appear to offer slightly cheaper trips than ours. We urge you not to be misled by cheap “headline” prices because you will almost certainly end up paying more in the destination. Beware too of “Optional Activities” because they come at a price and add considerably to your overall holiday cost.
We are so confident in our product knowledge, and the exceptional experiences that we include, that we welcome the opportunity to compare our itineraries. Very often, you’ll find that where we offer four hours of white water rafting, cheaper companies offer half that time. Similarly, our winter holidays never include the five-minute “taster” sessions that are often included in other operators’ programmes.
We’ll be delighted to compare any quotes you have obtained elsewhere and our comparison service is completely free and without obligation. We’ll even tell you to book elsewhere if we think that is best for your family…but we’ve not had to do that yet!
Our heritage
We’ve been creating holidays since 2002 and over the years, the range and diversity of our holidays have grown considerably.
We originally started as a Family Activity Holiday company selling multi-activity trips in Greece, Turkey, Spain and France. Looking back, our first ever brochure was a pretty amateurish affair but everybody has to start somewhere.
We soon expanded into more destinations and also operated adult-only group trips before experimenting with a few winter trips we had discovered on our travels. Back then, activities such as dog sledding and snowmobiling were rarely heard of here in the UK but we soon realised that there was a rapidly growing market for such experiences and before long we were also producing a Winter Holiday brochure.
Our travels have allowed us to identify growing trends within the holiday market. Our experiences north of the Arctic Circle led us to set up our dedicated Northern Lights hunting brand – The Aurora Zone. In fact, we were the first company in the UK to offer such trips and while many have followed suit in the last few years, we pride ourselves on still being THE Northern Lights company.
With the huge success of The Aurora Zone, our business had become very concentrated on the winter months and we recently moved to balance the seasonality of our trips by creating The Artisan Travel Company. Artisan Travel offers trips throughout the year for people who want their holiday to be a genuine experience. Each trip has been handcrafted in conjunction with our local suppliers to ensure that our clients see the absolute best of their chosen destination.
Activities Abroad specialise in summer and winter family activity holidays, The Aurora Zone provides dedicated Northern Lights hunting trips and Artisan Travel is all about unforgettable experiences for adults all year round.
And that’s where we are right now. Activities Abroad specialise in summer and winter family activity holidays, The Aurora Zone provides dedicated Northern Lights hunting trips and Artisan Travel is all about unforgettable experiences for adults all year round.
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