About cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small data files that allow a website or a mobile app to collect and store a range of data on your desktop computer, laptop or mobile device. Cookies help us to provide important features and functionality on our websites and mobile apps, and we use them to improve your customer experience. With our permission, cookies may be placed on our websites and mobile apps by other organisations. For example, we use cookies to do the following:
To improve the way our websites and mobile apps work
Cookies allow us to assess and improve the way our websites and mobile apps work so that we can personalise your experience and allow you to use many of their useful features. For example, cookies help us to keep track of what you are booking as you move through each stage of the booking process; they help us to remember your preferences such as recent searches or shortlisted holidays, and the contents of your online shopping basket.
To improve the performance of our websites and mobile apps
Cookies can help us to understand how our websites and mobile apps are being used, for example, by telling us if you get an error messages as you browse, to test different designs of our website and mobile app pages. Website analytics, including Google Analytics, provides information about the number of visitors to our website and mobile apps, which parts of our website and mobile apps are most popular and if there are any trends such as one specific page being viewed mostly by people in a particular country. These cookies help us to improve your experience.
To deliver relevant online advertising
We use cookies to help us deliver online advertising that we believe is most relevant to you on our websites, mobile apps and other organisations’ websites. For example, these cookies help us to suggest flights from your nearest airport, holidays in destinations you have shown interest in or products you might like.
These cookies may collect data about your online behaviour, such as your IP address, the website you arrived from and information about your purchase history or the content of your shopping basket.
This means that you may see our adverts on our websites, mobile apps and on other organisations’ websites. You may also see adverts for other organisations on our websites and mobile apps.
To help us to deliver online advertising that is relevant to you, we may also combine data we collect through cookies in the browser of your devices with other data that we have collected.
To measure the effectiveness of our marketing communications, including online advertising
Cookies can tell us if you have seen a specific advert, and how long it has been since you have seen it. This information allows us to measure the effectiveness of our online advertising campaigns and control the number of times you are shown an advert so it does not become too repetitive. We also use cookies to measure the effectiveness of our marketing communications, for example by telling us if you have opened a marketing email that we have sent you.
Your choices when it comes to cookies
You can use your browser settings to accept or reject new cookies and to delete existing cookies. You can also set your browser to notify you each time new cookies are placed on your computer or other device. You can find more detailed information about how you can manage cookies at the All About Cookies and Your Online Choices websites.
If you choose to disable some or all cookies, you may not be able to make full use of our websites or mobile apps. For example, you may not be able to add items to your shopping basket, proceed to checkout, or use any of our products and services that require you to sign in.
Where we display personalised adverts on other organisations’ websites, the AdChoices icon will usually be displayed. Clicking on this icon will provide you with specific guidance on how to control your online advertising preferences. More information is available on the YourAdChoices website.
Changes to our Notice
This Notice replaces all previous versions. We may change the Notice at any time so please check it regularly on our website(s) for any updates. If the changes are significant, we will provide a prominent notice on our website(s) including, if we believe it is appropriate, electronic notification of Cookie Notice changes.
Last update: October 2018
Key terms
Website analytics:
Website analytics, including Google Analytics, help us understand how visitors engage with our website. We can view a variety of reports about how visitors interact with our website and mobile apps so that they can improve it.
Website analytics uses first-party cookies to track visitor interactions as in our case, where they are used to collect information about how visitors use our website and mobile apps. We then use the information to compile reports and to help us improve our site.
For example, Google Analytics collects information anonymously. It reports website trends without identifying individual visitors. You can opt out of Google Analytics without affecting how you visit our site – for more information on opting out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites you use, visit Google.
Online advertising: Marketing messages that you may see on the internet.