Privacy & Social Media Policy

The Knoxville Convention and Visitors Bureau (Visit Knoxville) is committed to making your visit to our website a personalized experience in a trusted environment. Our goal is to provide you with information, resources, and services that are relevant and helpful.

Visit Knoxville values your privacy. We are committed to protecting your personal information and maintaining your trust. As part of our commitment to protect your personal information and as a participant in the Privacy Shield, we are committed to following and abiding by the Privacy Shield Principles for all of the personal data received from our customers in the European Union (EU) and/or in Switzerland.

This Privacy Policy explains the types of personal information we collect through our website, visitknoxville.com, how we use it, what we do not do with it, how you can view your information and update it, and how we keep it safe.

 

 

What Information Do We Collect About You?


Personal Identification Information

Visit Knoxville maintains strict security over all the information about the activity of visitors to this site. We use the information you share with us to improve our site. We monitor website visitor traffic patterns to guide our further development and improvement of the site itself. We do not share your information with any organization or business outside of Visit Knoxville. It is Visit Knoxville’s policy that personal information, such as your name, postal, e-mail address and phone number, is private and confidential. Accordingly, the personal information you provide is stored in a secure location, accessible only by designated staff and used to provide you with the requested information about the Knoxville area.

We do not collect any personal information through www.visitknoxville.com except that knowingly and willingly supplied by the visitor for the purpose of providing the services/information requested through our site. We will collect personal identification information from users only if they voluntarily submit such information to us. Personal identifying information may be collected through e-newsletter forms, online request forms, contests, feedback forms, surveys, personal interest forms, and mobile application forms. Any information that the customer provides, such as name, address, email, ZIP code, gender, and income will be stored in a secure location and will be used only for those purposes stated. When you choose to submit such information, you are transferring that information into the United States of America and are consenting to such transfer. All data transferred will be/is encrypted (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure or HTTPS) transfer, through Secure Sockets Layer, or SSL. Visitors can always refuse to supply personal identification information, noting that choosing to do so may prevent the user from engaging in certain site-related activities. Users of our services, such as e-newsletter subscriptions, may also withdraw consent for the use of their personal information at any time. To review, update, or delete your collected data, or to withdraw consent for use, contact marketing@visitknoxville.org.
 

Non-personal identification information

We may collect non-personal identification information about users whenever they interact with our website. We collect the domain name from each site visitor as well as statistical information, such as the number of visitors and the pages viewed. Non-personal identification information may include the browser name, the type of computer being use, and technical information about the user’s means of connection to our site, such as the operating system and the Internet service providers utilized, and other similar information.
 

Web Browser Cookies and Other Tracking Devices

Visit Knoxville may use cookies and other tracking devices on our websites to allow us to measure site activity in aggregate, not on the individual level. This in turn allows us to provide a better user experience. Only information you voluntarily provide is stored in your customer file.

Our site may use "cookies", tags, or scripts to enhance user experience, track users’ movements around the website, and to gather demographic information about our user base. You will have the option to choose whether to “opt in” for the use of “cookies” when you access the site. If you do choose to allow the use of the “cookies”, you may, at any time, choose to “opt out” of the use of the “cookies.”

A user's web browser places cookies on their hard drive for record-keeping purposes and sometimes to track information about them. The user may choose to set their web browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. In these cases, please note that some parts of the site may not function properly.
 

Mobile Applications & Location Awareness

Our Visit Knoxville App collects some personal and location information for the function of mobile applications, if the application user opts in. Any information that the customer provides, such as name, address, email, ZIP code, gender, and income will be stored in a secure location and will be used only for those purposes expressly stated. Users can always refuse to supply personal identification information, understanding that choosing to do so may prevent the user from engaging in certain mobile application activities. We can collect registration and form information from the mobile application upon the user’s agreement via opt-in. Location information is collected if the user agrees to show their location or check-in to venues by GPS.
 

Social Media (Features) and Widgets

Our website includes social media programs and features, such as Instagram UGC powered by CrowdRiff, the Facebook Like button and widgets, and the Share button. If you choose to use these features, they may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. The social media programs, features, and widgets we use are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our site. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing the feature(s).

Visit Knoxville’s social media accounts (including the Visit Knoxville Sports Commission and Visit Knoxville Film Office) are monitored by staff committed to sharing destination-related information with visitors, meeting planners, sports planners, film industry representatives and the community at large. Our policy is to accept the majority of comments made to our profiles.

Social Media Policy

We monitor our profiles and pages but are not responsible for content generated by users. Posted comments and images do not necessarily represent the views of Visit Knoxville. Our profiles and pages may contain links to other web sites on the Internet. This does not constitute endorsement by Visit Knoxville.       

  • When engaging with Visit Knoxville and/or other users, please be civil and respectful.      
  • Posts and comments that promote, foster or perpetuate discrimination on the basis of race, creed, color, age, religion, gender, gender identity, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, national origin, physical or mental disability or sexual orientation are prohibited. Such content will be removed.
  • Posts and comments that include vulgar, offensive, threatening or harassing language, personal attacks or unsupported accusations are prohibited. Such content will be removed.
  • Obscene or sexual content or links to obscene or sexual content, illegal activity or encouragement of illegal activity are prohibited. Such content will be removed.
  • Information that may tend to compromise the safety or security of the public or public systems is prohibited. Such content will be removed.  
  • Advertising (not generated by Visit Knoxville) and political campaigning is not permitted on social media pages of Visit Knoxville. Such content will be removed.        
  • Comments whose main purpose are to sell a product, infringe on copyright, or spam comments, such as the same comment posted repeatedly, may also be removed.           
  • Repeated violations may cause the author to be blocked from social media pages managed by Visit Knoxville.

We understand that social media is a 24/7 medium; however, our monitoring capabilities are not. We may not see every inappropriate comment right away, and we are trusting in the maturity of our community to ignore personal attacks and negative speech or respond politely. Visit Knoxville maintains the right to modify these policies without notice. If you have a question, please contact communications@knoxville.org.

Online Advertising

On this site we collect demographic data from Google's Interest-based advertising with Google Analytics. Visitors can opt-out of Google Analytics for Display Advertising and customize Google Display Network ads using the Ads Settings.

Information will not be sold or distributed to outside third parties - Your privacy is our top priority; therefore Visit Knoxville will not sell, rent, or give away your name or address to outside organizations. Visit Knoxville will not reveal any personal information that users provide to us to any third party without their permission.

IP addresses

Visit Knoxville may uses IP addresses to analyze trends, administer the site, track movement throughout the site, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information. Visit Knoxville will share aggregated demographic information with our partners and advertisers. This is not linked to any personal information that can identify any individual.
 

Automated Decision Making and Profiling

Visit Knoxville partners with companies that utilize automated decision making processes, including user profiling, in order to provide more relevant marketing materials to those users who opt in to receiving emails from us.

 

 

How Do We Use Your Information?

The information that we collect is used to enhance the usability and improve the content of our web pages. It may be used to personalize information and for statistical purposes. Personal information will not be shared with third parties unless indicated and when approved by the user (in other words, if the user opts-in to sharing information) or unless required to do so by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, court orders, legal process from law enforcement agencies, or similar legal proceedings. We provide information to investigate or prevent suspected illegal activities. Personal data may be shared in the following situations, as well:

  • As required by law, such as to comply with a subpoena, legal proceedings, or similar legal process
  • When we believe in good faith that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, protect your safety or the safety of others, investigate fraud, or respond to a government request,
  • In certain situations, we may be required to disclose personal data in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements, and
  • To a third party with your prior consent to do so.

Visit Knoxville will retain personal data we process until the visitor/user notifies us that he/she no longer wishes to receive the services or information for which the data was collected. Visit Knoxville will retain and use this personal information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
 

Links to Other Websites/Third Party Disclosure

www.visitknoxville.com contains links to other sites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the information collection processes on these sites and cannot control how the information is used. Please view the privacy policies on these other websites for further information.

Data Collection For Clients and Partners

Visit Knoxville supports the development and operation of partner services/products that interact with client user information. We request that our partners meet industry standards for security data storage and maintenance equivalent to those that we uphold or higher in regards to any data collected by our partners or by Visit Knoxville in conjunction with these partner services/products. Where applicable, we enter into binding agreements ensuring all parties meet minimum data security standards.

We acknowledge that we may face liability in cases where there is an onward transfer of your personal information from us to a third party. We hold those third parties with whom we do business to the same rigorous security standards that we impose on ourselves.

 

 

How Do We Protect Your Information?

Opting Out

You can always choose not to provide information, even though it might be needed to take advantage of Visit Knoxville services, or to receive more information about Knoxville. If you do not want to receive email or other mail from us, please email us at marketing@knoxville.org with "Remove from your mailing list" in the subject line or call our main line at 800-727-8045. Also, please note that all enewsletters and campaigns sent from Visit Knoxville have an unsubscribe link at the bottom of the communication piece. Users can simply click the unsubscribe button to be taken off our emailing list.
 

Data Security

Visit Knoxville employs processes intended to protect user information and maintain security of data. We seek to protect our servers by locating them in areas with documented security procedures, by using firewalls, and by implementing other security technologies. These safeguards help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of data. However, despite our preventative measures and those of our partners, NO GUARANTEE CAN BE MADE THAT YOUR INFORMATION AND DATA WILL BE SECURE FROM INTRUSIONS AND UNAUTHORIZED RELEASE TO THIRD PARTIES.


Reviewing/Updating Your Information

You have the right to review your information at any time. If you would like to review your information within our contacts database, update it, or remove it, please contact marketing@visitknoxville.org.

If you would like to be removed from or change your subscriptions to any of our newsletters, there is a link at the bottom of every newsletter that allows you to do so.

 

 

Terms of Use

Notification of Changes

All changes to the Visit Knoxville privacy policy will be updated to this page and will reflect the changes so our site visitors are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected. We reserve the right to change and update our privacy policy. Any changes to our policy will be prominently posted on this site. Last updated: 3/6/2018.
 

Legal Notice

Information on this web site is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind, either express or implied. While every effort has been made to provide the most accurate information we advise that Information on this web site may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Visit Knoxville at any time and without notice may make improvements and/or changes in the products and/or the programs described in this information. This Web site contains links to other sites. Please be aware that Visit Knoxville is not responsible for the content or practices of other sites, and that a link should not be considered an endorsement of that site. We encourage our site visitors to be aware when they leave our site and to understand that it is independent from Visit Knoxville. In no event will Visit Knoxville be liable to any party for any direct, indirect, special or other consequential damages for any use of this web site, or on any other hyperlinked web site, including, without limitation, any lost profits, business interruption, loss of programs or other data on your information handling system or otherwise, even if we are expressly advised of the possibility of such damages.
 

Personal and Non-Commercial Use Limitation

This website is strictly for your personal and non-commercial use. In the absence of Visit Knoxville’s express prior written consent, you may not modify, copy, transmit, distribute, display, publish, or reproduce this website or any part thereof for any purpose other than your own personal and non-commercial use. No Unlawful or Prohibited Use - As a condition of your use of this website, you agree that you will not use this website for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms and Conditions of Use. Actions that you agree not to take include, but are not limited to: (1) taking or attempting to take any action that grants you access to the website to an extent greater than authorized by Visit Knoxville; (2) taking or attempting to take any action that results in unauthorized modification, addition, or deletion to the website; (3) taking or attempting to take any action that violates the security of the website; (4) taking or attempting to take any action that would impose an unreasonable or excessively large load on the website's infrastructure; and (5) knowingly providing false or misleading information to Visit Knoxville.
 

Terms of Use Ownership Notice

Unless otherwise noted, this website and all of the materials contained herein, including the HTML code, source code, and any other code used to generate any portion of this website, are the copyrighted property of Visit Knoxville or of third parties who have licensed us to use their property. None of the content or data found on this website may be reproduced, republished, distributed, sold, transferred, or modified without express written permission. However, users may reproduce a single copy of any web page for their personal use. In addition, the trademarks, logos, and service marks displayed on this website (collectively the "Trademarks") are registered and common law trademarks of Visit Knoxville and/or third party service providers. Nothing contained on this website should be construed as granting any license or right to use any of the Trademarks without the written permission of Visit Knoxville and/or the appropriate third party service providers.
 

Report Concerns

If you have feedback or questions regarding Visit Knoxville’s website privacy practices, please contact us at: Visit Knoxville 301 S. Gay Street Knoxville, TN 37902 Phone: 865-523-7263 / 800-727-8045 or if you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact our U.S.-based third party dispute resolution provider (free of charge) at https://feedback-form.truste.com/watchdog/request.
 

Dispute Resolution

Under certain circumstances, an individual may be allowed to invoke binding arbitration for a violation of that individual’s privacy rights.

We are subject to the investigatory and enforcement powers of the FTC, the Department of Transportation, or any other U.S. authorized statutory body.