Privacy and Cookie Policy
The Estonian Convention Bureau (ECB) is committed to protecting your privacy and handling your personal data responsibly and transparently. This Privacy and Cookie Policy explains how we collect, use, store and protect personal information when you visit our website, submit an event or venue enquiry, subscribe to our newsletter, register for an event or otherwise interact with our services.
We process personal data in accordance with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and applicable Estonian data protection legislation.
1. Who We Are
The Estonian Convention Bureau (ECB) is a non-profit organisation promoting Estonia as an international destination for conferences, meetings and corporate events. For the personal data processing activities described in this policy, the Estonian Convention Bureau acts as the data controller, unless otherwise stated.
Contact details:
Estonian Convention Bureau
Viru 19, 10148 Tallinn, Estonia
Email: info@ecb.ee
Website: www.ecb.ee
For any questions regarding this Privacy and Cookie Policy or the processing of your personal data, please contact us at info@ecb.ee.
2. What Personal Data We Collect
We collect personal data when you voluntarily provide information through our website, communicate with us or use our services. Depending on the nature of your interaction with ECB, this information may include:
- Your name, email address and telephone number
- Company or organisation name, position and country
- Information submitted through our event, hotel or venue enquiry forms
- Event details, including dates, participant numbers, meeting room requirements and accommodation needs
- Newsletter subscription details
- Information provided when registering for ECB events, familiarisation trips or other activities
- Information included in your correspondence with us
- We may also collect certain technical information automatically when you visit our website, including your IP address, browser type, device information, pages visited and website usage data.
In addition, ECB may collect publicly available professional contact information from university, association and organisation websites to identify potential conference hosts, international association contacts and other relevant industry professionals.
We aim to collect only the personal data necessary for the purposes described in this policy.
3. How We Use Your Personal Data
We process personal data for the following purposes:
- Responding to enquiries and providing information about organising conferences, meetings and events in Estonia
- Assisting event planners with venue selection, accommodation, local suppliers and other event-related services
- Managing registrations for ECB events, familiarisation trips and professional activities
- Sending newsletters and relevant communications to subscribers
- Maintaining professional relationships with conference organisers, associations and industry partners
- Improving our website, services and user experience
- Compiling website statistics and analysing visitor behaviour
- Meeting applicable legal and administrative obligations
Depending on the circumstances, we process personal data on one or more of the following legal bases under GDPR:
Consent: Where you have given permission for a specific purpose, such as receiving newsletters or using non-essential cookies.
Legitimate interests: Where processing is necessary for ECB’s legitimate activities, such as responding to professional enquiries, maintaining relevant business relationships and promoting Estonia as a meeting destination, provided these interests are not overridden by your rights and freedoms.
Contractual necessity: Where processing is necessary to take steps at your request before entering into a contract or to fulfil contractual obligations, where applicable.
Legal obligations: Where processing is required to comply with applicable legislation.
Where processing is based on consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. Withdrawal does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before consent was withdrawn.
4. Event, Hotel and Venue Enquiries
The Estonian Convention Bureau provides free assistance to international conference, meeting and event organisers looking for suitable venues, hotels, suppliers and services in Estonia. When you submit an enquiry through our website, including through individual hotel or venue pages, we collect the information necessary to understand and respond to your request. This may include your contact details, organisation, event type, preferred venue, event dates, expected number of participants, meeting room requirements, accommodation needs and any additional information you provide.
We use this information to:
- Review and respond to your enquiry
- Recommend suitable hotels, venues and event services
- Assist with event planning and local arrangements
- Contact relevant service providers where necessary to fulfil your request
Where appropriate, we may share relevant enquiry details with the hotels, venues or other local service providers involved in handling your request. We share only the information reasonably necessary for the relevant purpose. Any such sharing must have an appropriate legal basis. We do not sell your personal data to third parties.
5. Newsletter Subscriptions and Marketing Communications
If you subscribe to our newsletter, we use your email address and any other information you provide to send updates about Estonia as a meeting destination, including news about conference venues, hotels, events, industry developments and ECB activities. You may unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time by using the unsubscribe link included in our emails or by contacting info@ecb.ee.
ECB may also communicate with relevant professional contacts in the international meetings and events industry where permitted by applicable data protection and electronic communications legislation. You have the right to object to direct marketing at any time.
6. Event Registrations and Familiarisation Trips
When you register for an event, familiarisation trip, site inspection or other activity organised by ECB, we may collect personal information necessary to manage your participation. Depending on the event, this may include your name, organisation, contact details, professional information and relevant participation requirements. Where necessary for organising the activity, we may share relevant information with event partners and service providers, such as hotels, venues, transport companies or activity organisers. We use this information only for purposes connected with the organisation, administration and follow-up of the relevant activity, unless another lawful basis applies.
7. Cookies and Website Analytics
Our website uses cookies and similar technologies to ensure its functionality, improve the browsing experience and help us understand how visitors use our content. Cookies are small text files stored on your device when you visit a website. Some cookies are necessary for the website to function, while others support additional features or provide information about website performance.
We may use the following categories of cookies:
- Essential Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function properly. They support basic features such as navigation, security and access to website functions. Essential cookies do not require consent where they are strictly necessary for providing a service requested by the user.
- Preference Cookies
Preference cookies allow the website to remember your choices, such as your preferred language or other settings, to provide a more personalised browsing experience.
- Analytics Cookies
Analytics cookies help us understand how visitors interact with our website, including which pages are visited most frequently and how visitors navigate the site. We use Google Analytics to analyse website traffic and improve the performance, content and usability of our website. Depending on the configuration of the analytics service, information processed may include device and browser data, website interactions and other usage information. Where required by law, analytics cookies are used only after you have given your consent. For more information about Google’s data practices, please visit Google’s Privacy Policy.
- Social Media and Third-Party Cookies
Our website may include links, embedded content or sharing features provided by third-party platforms, including social media services. These third parties may process information in accordance with their own privacy and cookie policies. Where third-party cookies or similar technologies require consent, they will be used only where the necessary consent has been obtained.
8. Managing Your Cookie Preferences
You can manage or delete cookies through your browser settings. Most browsers allow you to block certain cookies, delete existing cookies or receive notifications when cookies are being stored. Please note that disabling essential cookies may affect the functionality of some parts of our website. Where our website uses a cookie consent management tool, you can also use it to accept, reject or change your preferences for non-essential cookies.You can find additional information about managing cookies at www.aboutcookies.org.
9. Sharing and Protecting Your Personal Data
The Estonian Convention Bureau treats personal data confidentially and takes appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect it against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure. We do not sell or rent personal data to third parties. Where necessary for the purposes described in this policy, personal data may be shared with:
- Hotels, conference venues and other event service providers involved in responding to your enquiry
- Partners and suppliers assisting with the organisation of ECB events and activities
- Website hosting, email, analytics and other technical service providers
- Public authorities where disclosure is required by law
Service providers processing personal data on our behalf are required to apply appropriate data protection safeguards. Where personal data is transferred outside the European Economic Area, we ensure that an appropriate legal transfer mechanism and safeguards are in place, as required by GDPR.
10. How Long We Keep Your Personal Data
We retain personal data only for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes for which it was collected, unless a longer retention period is required by law. Retention periods may vary depending on the type of information and the purpose of processing.
For example:
- Enquiry information is retained for as long as necessary to respond to the request and manage relevant follow-up communications.
- Newsletter subscription information is retained until you unsubscribe or the information is no longer needed.
- Event registration information is retained for the period necessary for event administration and any applicable legal obligations.
- Website analytics data is retained in accordance with the settings and retention periods of the relevant analytics services.
When personal data is no longer required, we securely delete or anonymise it, as appropriate.
11. Your Rights Under GDPR
Under the General Data Protection Regulation, you have certain rights regarding your personal data.
Depending on the circumstances, these include:
- Right of access: Request information about the personal data we hold about you.
- Right to rectification: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal data.
- Right to erasure: Request deletion of your personal data where the legal requirements are met.
- Right to restriction: Request that we limit the processing of your personal data in certain circumstances.
- Right to data portability: Request your personal data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format where this right applies.
- Right to object: Object to certain types of processing, including processing based on legitimate interests and direct marketing.
- Right to withdraw consent: Withdraw your consent at any time where processing is based on consent.
- To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@ecb.ee.
We will respond to your request in accordance with the time limits established by GDPR, normally within one month. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Estonian Data Protection Inspectorate (Andmekaitse Inspektsioon) or another competent supervisory authority.
For further information, visit www.aki.ee.
12. Links to Third-Party Websites
Our website may contain links to external websites operated by hotels, venues, service providers, industry organisations and other partners. These websites operate independently of the Estonian Convention Bureau and may have their own privacy and cookie policies. We encourage you to review the privacy policies of any external websites you visit. ECB is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of third-party websites.
13. Changes to This Privacy and Cookie Policy
The Estonian Convention Bureau may update this Privacy and Cookie Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our services, website functionality, data processing practices or applicable legislation. The latest version will always be available on this page. We encourage visitors to review this policy periodically.
14. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy and Cookie Policy, the use of cookies or the processing of your personal data, please contact us:
Estonian Convention Bureau
Email: info@ecb.ee
Website: www.ecb.ee