Big Bus Tours Cookie Policy - Effective March 2019

Big Bus Tours Ltd (“we”, “us”, “our”) use a small number of cookies on our website (www. bigbustours.com) (the “Website”).

This cookie policy sets out information to explain what cookies are, the types of cookies that we use and the purposes for which we use cookies. Generally, the information we collect using cookies does not identify you personally. However, in some cases, cookies may collect personal information about you or we may combine information obtained from cookies with personal information. In this case, we treat such information as personal information and process it in accordance with our Privacy Policy. We will update this policy periodically to reflect any changes to the way we use cookies and related technologies  

What are cookies and why do we use them?

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer, tablet, mobile phone or other handheld device when you visit our Website. Cookies are then sent back to our Website each time you visit the Website. They enable the Website to recognise your devices and store certain information about you, including your browsing preferences. Importantly, they distinguish you from other users of our Website, enable us to optimise the service that we provide through the Website and provide you with a more tailored experience.

We may also use other web technologies such as web beacons, which are tiny graphic files that contain a unique identifier. These technologies serve a similar purpose to cookies and enable us to recognize you when you visit the Website. Throughout this policy, references to “cookies” include these similar technologies. Cookies used on this Website serve different purposes: Strictly necessary (or essential) cookies. These cookies are essential to enable you to move around the Website and use its features, for example, making a purchase. Without these cookies, those services would not be available to you.

Performance cookies. These cookies collect information about how visitors use the Website, such as the number of visitors that browse the Website, the pages visitors visit most often, and whether visitors get error messages from web pages. Please see below for information on our use of performance and analytics cookies.
Functionality cookies. These cookies allow the Website to remember choices that you make (such as your user name, your language, or the region you are in) and provide enhanced, more personal features. Providing these features allows you to have a better experience while using the Website.
Targeting or advertising cookies. These cookies collect information about your browsing habits to make advertising relevant to you and your interests. The cookies are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as to help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. Please see below for information on our use of advertising cookies.

Disabling cookies

In your web browser settings you can control which types of cookies you allow. You can use your browser settings to receive notices of when new cookies are set, to turn cookies on or disable them entirely and to clear your browser's cache (history). If you change the cookies settings on your browser, we will ask for your consent to use cookies the next time you visit our Website. If you don’t want information about your visit to our websites sent to Google Analytics, you may download an Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here.
If you would like to opt-out of having interest-based information collected by certain entities during your visits to our Website, please make use of the opt-out programs established by Digital Advertising Alliance and the European Interactive Digital Advertising Alliance. You will be directed to industry-developed websites that contain mechanisms for choosing whether each listed entity may collect and use data for online behavioral advertising purposes. It may be that some of the third parties that collect interest-based information on our websites do not participate in the industry-developed opt-out website, in which case the best way to avoid third-party tracking of your online behaviors may be through your browser settings and the deletion of cookies. To opt out of having participating entities track your behaviors for advertising purposes when you are using a mobile app, download and use the Digital Advertising Alliance’s “App Choices” app. Please note that the opt-out programs are device and/or browser specific. If you wish to opt-out from having interest-based information collected by participating entities across all devices and browsers, you need take the steps outlined above for each device and browser. Unless you have adjusted your browser settings or taken other available steps to refuse cookies, we will issue cookies when you visit our Website, for the purposes set out above.

To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set on your computer and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org

Analytics and advertising cookies

We may use third-party social media platforms (including Facebook) to offer you interest-based, behavioral advertising. To offer such ads, we may use cookies or pixels to help these third-party social media platforms recognize you as someone interested in our products and services or in working for us and to serve more relevant advertisements to you when you are on their platforms. We may also convert your email address or other personal identifier into a unique value which can be matched by our advertising partners with users on their platform. Although we do not provide any personal information to these platform vendors, they may gain insights about individuals who respond to our advertisements. If you have a Facebook account you may opt out through your ad settings, otherwise see the industry websites listed above.
As explained, in addition to the cookies we deliver to your computer or mobile device through our Website, certain third parties may deliver cookies to you for a variety of reasons. For example, we use Google Analytics and Intilery, web analytics tools that help us understand how visitors engage with our Website. To learn more about Google Analytics, click here. We also use Google Ads to offer you interest-based, behavioral advertising. You may opt out through Google’s Ads Settings.

Other third parties may deliver cookies, over which we have no control, to your computer or mobile device for the purpose of tracking your online behaviors over time and across nonaffiliated websites and/or delivering targeted advertisements on other websites.

What type of cookies do we use?


In general terms, we use both session cookies (which expire at the end of a particular browsing session) and persistent cookies, which will remain on your device and enable us to remember your actions or user preferences across multiple browsing sessions.
More specifically, the types of cookies used on the Website, and the purposes for using such cookies are follows.

Cookie

Purpose

_ga

This cookie is part of Google analytics, and is used to distinguish users.

__utma

Google Analytics tracking - this cookie is used to distinguish users and sessions.

__utmb

Google Analytics tracking - this cookie is used to determine new sessions/visits.

__utmc

Google Analytics tracking - this cookie is used to determine whether or not to establish a new session for the user.

__utmz

Google Analytics tracking - this cookie is used to store the traffic source or campaign that explains how the user reached our site.

__utmv

Google Analytics tracking - this cookie is used to store visitor-level custom variable data.

__utmt

 

This cookie is set by Google Analytics. As per their documentation it is used to throttle the request rate for the service. It expires after 10 minutes.

_gat

This cookie is part of Google analytics, and is used  to throttle request rate, this cookie expires in 10 minutes.

_iutm(x)

These Intilery cookies may be used when you visit a Big Bus Tours site to identify customers and capture behaviours and transactions. This information will be stored solely for internal analysis and to deliver personalised digital content through Big Bus Tours channels.

_hjClosedSurveyInvites

This Hotjar cookie is set once a visitor interacts with a Survey invitation modal popup. It is used to ensure that the same invite does not re-appear if it has already been shown.

_hjDonePolls

This Hotjar cookie is set once a visitor completes a poll using the Feedback Poll widget. It is used to ensure that the same poll does not re-appear if it has already been filled in.

_hjMinimizedPolls

This Hotjar cookie is set once a visitor minimizes a Feedback Poll widget. It is used to ensure that the widget stays minimized when the visitor navigates through the website.

_hjDoneTestersWidgets

This Hotjar cookie is set once a visitor submits their information in the Recruit User Testers widget. It is used to ensure that the same form does not re-appear if it has already been filled in.

_hjMinimizedTestersWidgets

This Hotjar cookie is set once a visitor minimizes a Recruit User Testers widget. It is used to ensure that the widget stays minimizes when the visitor navigates through the website.

_hjDoneSurveys

This Hotjar cookie is set once a visitor completes a survey. It is used to only load the survey content if the visitor hasn't completed the survey yet.

_iutm(x)

 These Intilery cookies may be used when you visit a Big Bus site to identify customers and capture behaviours and transactions. This information will be stored solely for internal analysis and to deliver personalised digital content through Big Bus channels.

_otui

Opentracker tracking – this cookie is used to distinguish users and sessions.

_ots

Opentracker tracking – this cookie is used to determine new sessions/visits

_otpe

Opentracker tracking – this cookie is used to store the previous event before landing on the current page

_otor

Opentracker tracking – this cookie is used to store the original referer/ event that that explains how the user reached the website.

_otcy

Opentracker tracking – this cookie is used to store the original city from which the user reached the website.

_otrn

Opentracker tracking – this cookie is used to store the original region from which the user reached the website

_otcn

Opentracker tracking – this cookie is used to store the original country from which the user reached the website.

Netmining

Cookie is used to determine ad Serving, ad targeting, analytics/Measurement, Optimisation

Doubleclick Floodlight

Floodlight to determine the effectiveness of their online campaigns in terms of both sales and user activity on the website.

Facebook

Cookie is used to determine ad Serving, ad targeting, analytics, measurement and optimisation

Doubleclick Natural Search

Cookie is for the measurement of organic search traffic

aw

 

This cookie is set when you click on one of the affiliate window links and are used to let the advertiser and affiliate window know the website from which you came.

AWSESS

 

This cookie is used by our affiliate provider when you see an ad and used to help make sure they don't keep showing you the same ad.

awpv

 

This cookie is set when you see an ad and used to let the advertiser and affiliate know where you were when you saw it.

_aw_m_

 

This cookie is set when you click on an affiliate link and used to let the advertiser and affiliate provider know the website from which you came.

ki_

Qualaroo tracking – this cookie is used on pages where we have occasional Qualaroo surveys running.

AdWords Conversions

This cookie is used by Google AdWords to track purchases made on our website. No personal information is contained in this cookie.

AdWords Remarketing

Google AdWords uses this cookie to record information about the journey and the pages browsed by a user through their experience on our website.

 

Bing Ads Goal Tracking

This cookie is used by Bings Ads to track purchases made on the website. No personal information is contained in this cookie.

 


Contact

For help or for further information in relation to this policy, please contact us.