Table of contents
- Cookie statement
- Use of cookies
- What are cookies?
- Your preferences
- What cookies does ETC use?
- How can you manage or turn off cookies completely?
- Is cookie information passed on to third parties?
- How long is cookie information stored?
- Changes to this Cookie Policy
1. Cookie statement
This Cookie Policy was drafted and is managed by the European Travel Commission AISBL (ETC).
ETC has its registered office at Rue du Marché aux Herbes 61, 1000 Brussels, Belgium. For all questions and/or comments, please contact us at gdpr@visiteurope.com.
2. Use of cookies
ETC considers it important that you can view, read or experience our website content at any place and at any time via various media platforms. We want you to be able to use interactive features and provide you with services tailored to your needs.
Therefore, ETC uses online techniques such as cookies, tags, scripts and similar technologies (hereafter referred to as “cookies”).
Cookies help us facilitate the use of the website and improve its functionality by collecting information about our website visitors through their use of the website.
In this Cookie Policy, ETC wishes to inform you about the kinds of cookies used on visiteurope.com and their purposes. ETC may amend this policy at any time. This may happen, for example, in the context of changes to its services or applicable legislation. The amended policy will then be published on this website and will apply from the moment it is published.
3. What are cookies?
A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.
Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies. A persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date. A session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session when the web browser is closed.
Different kinds of cookies exist that serve different purposes and have different lifespans on your device (see section 5, “What cookies does ETC use?”). One example might be a cookie containing a unique code that allows the website server to recognise you when you visit the website or return to it at a later time.
Other cookies may be necessary for the browser to display the website correctly or to improve your overall user experience. For example, they may store a specific preference or information needed by your browser, such as your language or the ID of your last session on the website.
Cookies generally make interaction between the visitor and the website easier and faster and help visitors navigate between different parts of the website more efficiently.
Cookies do not typically contain information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to information stored in and obtained from cookies.
If the use of certain cookies also involves the processing of personal data, the Website Privacy Policy also applies alongside this Cookie Policy.
4. Your preferences
When you first visit our website, you are asked to set your cookie preferences. You can either accept all cookies, set your preferences or refuse them.
Please note that even if you refuse the use of cookies, necessary cookies will still be enabled because they are required for the website to work.
You can change your preferences at any time.
5. What cookies does ETC use?
The tables below provide an overview of the cookies used on this website.
Essential Website Cookies
| Cookie name | Provider | Purpose | Type | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| crsftoken | Instagram.com | Helps prevent Cross-Site Requests (CSRF) attacks using JavaScript. | Server_cookie | 1year or until user submits a form. |
Performance and functionality cookies
| Cookie name | Provider | Purpose | Type | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yt_remote_device id | youtube.com | Stores a unique ID for the user's device for YouTube | html_local_storage | persistent |
| AWSALBCORS | starling.crowdriff.com AWS | Provides load balancing functionality. | Server_cookie | 7 days |
| PHPSESSID | Visiteurope.com | Cookie generated by applications based on the PHP language. This is a general purpose identifier used to maintain user session variables. It is normally a random generated number, how it is used can be specific to the site, but a good example is maintaining a logged-in status for a user between pages. | Server_cookie | Session |
| AWSALB | starling.crowdriff.com AWS | These cookies enable us to allocate server traffic to make the user experience as smooth as possible. A so-called load balancer is used to determine which server currently has the best availability. The information generated cannot identify you as an individual. | Server_cookie | 7 days |
| yt-remote-connected-devices | Youtube.com | Stores a list of connected devices for YouTube | html_local_storage | Persistent |
| _icl_visitor_lang_js | Visiteurope.com | Language localisation serving | session |
Analytics and customisation cookies
| Cookie name | Provider | Purpose | Type | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #collect | Google-analytics.com | Sends data such as visitor’s behavior and device to Google Analytics. It is able to keep track of the visitor across marketing channels and devices. It is a pixel tracker type cookie whose activity lasts within the browsing session. | pixel_tracker | session |
| NID | Google.com | Set by Google to set a unique user ID to remember user preferences. | Server_cookie | Persistent cookie that stays for 182 days |
| _gat | Visiteurope.com | Used to monitor number of Google Analytics server requests when using Google Tag Manager. | http_cookie | < 1 minute |
| _gid | Visiteurope.com | Keeps an entry of unique ID which is then used to come up with statistical data on website usage by visitors. It is a HTTP cookie type and expires after a browsing session. | http_cookie | 1 day |
| _ga | Visiteurope.com | Records a particular ID used to come up with data about website usage by the user. | http_cookie | 13 months and 4 days |
| _gat# | Visiteurope.com | Enables Google Analytics to regulate the rate of requesting. | http_cookie | Session |
| _ga_# | Visiteurope.com | Used to distinguish individual users by means of designation of a randomly generated number as client identifier, which allows calculation of visits and sessions | http_cookie | 13 months and 4 days |
Advertising cookies
| Cookie name | Provider | Purpose | Type | Expiration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mid | Instagram.com | Used by instagram for marketing purposes | server_cookie | 13 months and 4 days |
| Test_cookies | doubleclick.net | A session cookie used to check if the user’s browser supports cookies. | server_cookie | 15 minutes |
| YSC | Youtube.com | YouTube is a Google-owned platform for hosting and sharing videos. YouTube collects user data through videos embedded in websites, which is aggregated with profile data from other Google services in order to display targeted advertising to web visitors across a broad range of their own and other websites. Used by Google in combination with SID to verify Google user account and most recent login time. | server_cookie | Session |
| IDE | doubleclick.net | Used to measure the conversion rate of ads presented to the user. | Server_cookie | 1.5 years |
| VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | Youtube.com | Used by Google in combination with SID to verify Google user account and most recent login time. | Server_cookie | 5 months and 27 days |
| ga-audiences | Google.com | Used by Google AdWords to re-engage visitors that are likely to convert to customers based on the visitor's online behaviour across websites. | Pixel_tracker | Session |
| _fbp | Visiteurope.com | Facebook tracking pixel used to identify visitors for personalized advertising. | http_cookie | 2 months and 29 days |
| fr | Facebook.com | Used by Facebook to collect a unique browser and user ID, used for targeted advertising. | Server_cookie | 2 months and 29 days |
6. How can you manage or turn off cookies completely?
6.1 Set preferences in the Cookie Banner
Necessary cookies cannot be modified because they are required to provide our website in a working form. The information we collect through these cookies is always anonymous, which makes identification impossible.
For the other cookie categories, if applicable, you can choose in the cookie banner that appears when you visit this website whether or not to accept and give your consent for these types of cookies.
If rejected, cookies under the rejected category will not be placed on your system.
6.2 Block/delete cookies from your browser
Another way to manage the installation of cookies on your device is through your browser settings. You can also remove cookies that have already been installed on your computer or mobile device at any time. If you choose to disable cookies, you can do so in the browser you use:
- Internet Explorer
- Google Chrome
- Firefox
- Safari
If you use different devices to visit this website, make sure that your cookie preferences are set in the browser on each device.
Please note that disabling certain cookies may cause related features on the website to malfunction. For example, certain graphics may not display as intended, or you may not be able to use certain services.
7. Is cookie information passed on to third parties?
It is important to distinguish between two types of cookies.
7.1 First-party cookies
Direct or first-party cookies are cookies that ETC manages and that are specific to the website visited or used.
7.2 Third-party cookies
Indirect or third-party cookies are cookies that are managed and placed by a third party. These cookies may therefore cause certain data to be transmitted to third parties when you visit visiteurope.com. These may include, for example, cookies from social media platforms.
In the detailed information on ETC cookies above, you can identify which cookies are first-party and which are third-party by looking at the “Provider” column.
8. How long is cookie information stored?
Cookies can be stored on your computer or mobile device for different periods of time. Depending on the type of cookie, cookies and the information they collect are automatically deleted when you close your browser. These are known as “session cookies”.
In other cases, cookies remain stored for a longer period and can also be used during a subsequent visit to this website. These are known as “persistent cookies”.
For a detailed overview of the cookies, see section 5, “What cookies does ETC use?”.
9. Changes to this Cookie Policy
ETC may amend this Cookie Policy in accordance with certain technical, legal or commercial requirements and developments. We will inform you accordingly, taking into account the importance of the changes that have been made.