Privacy Policy

At www.myecotour.in (the "Website"), operated by Whispering Earth LLP (the "Company", "we", "us", or "our"), we are deeply committed to protecting your personal data and ensuring responsible interaction with the natural world. This document outlines how we collect, process, and secure user data, and establishes the environmental standards required of all travelers booking through our platform.

PART A: PRIVACY POLICY & DATA PROTECTION

1. INFORMATION WE COLLECT

To process your travel arrangements, online bookings, offline itineraries, and permit requests, we collect the following categories of personal information:

• Identity Data: Full name, gender, date of birth, nationality, and physical signatures.
• Contact Data: Email address, mobile number, and billing/home address.
• Official Documentation: Scanned copies or details of government-issued identification cards (Passport, Aadhaar, PAN, Voter ID) and visa history—specifically required for processing government inner-line permits, wildlife sanctuary entries, and airline bookings.
• Financial Data: Payment card details, bank account numbers, or UPI details are processed securely through our authorised payment gateways. We do not store raw card numbers on our internal servers.
• Travel Preferences: Dietary restrictions, health or mobility declarations, and special accommodation requirements.

2. HOW WE USE YOUR DATA

We process your personal information strictly for legitimate commercial and regulatory travel practices:

• Fulfilling and managing your online and offline hotel, homestay, safari, and transport bookings.
• Securing mandatory forest department clearances, entry permits, and restricted area entry tokens.
• Communicating vital trip updates, schedule alterations, or emergency advisories.
• Complying with applicable statutory legal obligations under Indian law.

3. DATA SHARING AND THIRD-PARTY DISCLOSURES

Because we function as a travel marketplace and facilitator, your data must be shared with select third parties:

• Primary Suppliers: Independent eco-resorts, homestays, transport providers, and activity operators who require passenger manifests to fulfil services.
• Government & Forest Authorities: Local administrative departments, border security cells, and wildlife sanctuary checkpoints for verifying entry eligibility and issuing permits.
• B2B Channel Partners: If your booking was made via an agent or affiliate partner, we share relevant booking status logs with that partner.

Note: We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal data to third-party marketing networks under any circumstances.

PART B: COOKIE DISCLOSURES

1. WHAT ARE COOKIES?

Cookies are minute text files placed on your computer, smartphone, or tablet when you visit our website. They help us remember your configuration choices and keep your secure browser sessions alive.

2. HOW WE EMPLOY COOKIES

We utilise cookies to enhance your operational flow across our ecosystem:

• Essential Cookies: Critical for running the core infrastructure, enabling user logins, and maintaining tracking stability throughout the checkout funnel.
• Analytical Cookies: Helping our web teams monitor diagnostic behavior patterns, traffic sources, and performance errors via tools like Google Analytics to optimise user navigation.
• Preference Cookies: Saving system choices like your preferred layout, currency or region.

3. YOUR CHOICES

You can choose to accept or decline cookies. Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer. Please note that blocking essential cookies may prevent certain secure interfaces or booking funnels on myecotour.in from functioning correctly.

PART C: TRAVELER ECO CODE OF CONDUCT

True eco-tourism requires a shared commitment between our operators and our travellers. By finalising any booking on our platform, you explicitly pledge to abide by the following environmental and cultural directives:

1. WILDLIFE & JUNGLE ETIQUETTE

• Zero Disturbance: Travellers must strictly follow forest guide instructions during safaris, boat tours, or nature treks. Keep your voice low, avoid flash photography, and never attempt to provoke, feed, call, or attract wild animals.
• No Off-Tracking: Vehicles and trekking parties must stay on designated paths. Driving off-road or walking outside approved wilderness boundaries damages delicate flora and disrupts micro-habitats.

2. WASTE & PLASTIC MANAGEMENT

• Pack It In, Pack It Out: Many homestays and rural communities do not possess modern waste processing or recycling infrastructure. Travellers are required to bring non-biodegradable waste (plastic wrappers, batteries, plastic bottles) back to urban centres for proper disposal.
• Single-Use Plastics: We strongly discourage bringing single-use plastic bags or bottles into national parks and protected biosphere reserves.

3. RESPECT FOR LOCAL COMMUNITIES

• Cultural Sensitivity: Many of our curated packages visit remote tribal zones, heritage villages, and rural homestays. Travellers must dress modestly, adhere to local community customs, and always seek verbal permission before photographing local residents or private properties.
• Resource Conservation: Water and electricity are often scarce commodities in remote mountain terrains or island ecosystems. Use utilities mindfully at your host properties.

4. RIGHT TO TERMINATE SERVICE

The Company and its third-party suppliers reserve an absolute right to immediately terminate a traveler's itinerary, safari, or stay—without warning or financial refund—if the traveler engages in hunting, poaching, dynamic littering, open environmental damage, harassment of wildlife, or behaves in a manner that endangers the safety of themselves, local guides, or the surrounding community.

PART D: GOVERNING LAW

This Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct shall be governed exclusively by the laws of India, and any structural data disputes or regulatory enforcement challenges shall be handled under the jurisdiction of the competent courts of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.