Cookie Policy

Last Updated - August 2025

Argyll & Isles Tourism Co-operative Cookie Policy

About Us

The oban.org.uk domain and website (Love Oban) are wholly owned assets of Argyll and The Isles Tourism Cooperative Limited (AITC) (“We”), and all content published on the site is © AITC.

Love Oban provides visitors with information relating to tourist attractions, accommodation, places to eat and drink and activities. It also provides trip planning information about the Oban, Lorn & the Isles area within the destination of Argyll & the Isles.

This website is operated by Argyll & Isles Tourism Cooperative Ltd (AITC), which is the data controller responsible for the collection and use of your personal information.

You can contact us at: AITC, c/o Ainsley Smith, Argyll Square, Oban, Argyll, PA34 4AT  Email: admin@wildaboutargyll.co.uk 

Our website is not intended for children under the age of 13. If you are under 13, please ensure you have obtained permission from a parent or guardian before sending us any personal details.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are placed on your device (computer, tablet, smartphone) when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work efficiently, provide core functionality, remember your preferences, and help site owners understand how visitors use their services.

Cookies may be:

• First-party cookies – set by the website you are visiting.
• Third-party cookies – set by a service provider on behalf of the website (e.g., analytics or embedded content).
• Session cookies – temporary cookies that disappear when you close your browser.
• Persistent cookies – remain on your device for a set period or until you delete them.
• We also use similar technologies such as pixels, tags, and scripts, which work in the same way as cookies to collect and store information.

How we use cookies

• We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
  • Strictly necessary cookies: These are essential for the website to work properly and cannot be turned off. They include things like remembering your cookie preferences, enabling secure login areas, and keeping forms functional.
  • Performance and analytics cookies. These help us understand how visitors use our site (e.g., which pages are most popular, how long people stay). We use this information to improve our website structure, content, and navigation. Currently, these cookies require your consent under UK law.
  • Functionality cookies: These remember your preferences (e.g., language, region) to provide a more personalised experience.
  • Marketing and third-party cookies: We do not currently use targeted advertising cookies. If we introduce them in future, we will request your explicit consent before they are set.

Lawful basis for using cookies

• At present, the use of non-essential cookies (analytics, functionality, marketing) is based on your consent under the UK Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) and UK GDPR.
• When the Data Protection and Digital Information Act changes take effect in 2025–2026, certain low-risk cookies (such as those used for basic analytics or performance monitoring) may no longer require consent. If that happens, we will update this policy to reflect the changes while keeping you informed and maintaining your ability to control settings.

Your choices and controls

• Cookie banner:On your first visit, you will see a cookie banner where you can:
  • Accept all cookies
  • Reject non-essential cookies
  • Manage individual preferences
• Change your settings anytime: You can revisit your cookie preferences through the “Cookie Settings” link on our website footer.
• Browser settings: You can also disable or delete cookies in your browser settings. However, this may affect some website features.

Cookies we use

• Below is a typical list of cookies and their purposes. The exact cookies may change as we update our services:
  • Session ID (Essential), Keeps you logged in and remembers form progress, retained until end of session, No consent required.
  • Cookie Preference (Essential), Remembers your cookie settings, retained for 12 months, No consent required.
  • Analytics (Google Analytics), Helps us understand how visitors use our site, retained for 26 months, consent required - Yes (until DPDI changes apply)
  • |Functional Preferences, Remembers your location/language choices, reatined for 6–12 months, consent required - Yes
• We review cookies regularly and update this list to reflect any changes.

Third-party services

• Some cookies may come from third-party providers we use for analytics, video hosting, or interactive content. We require all third parties to process any data collected in compliance with UK data protection law and to provide appropriate safeguards if data is transferred outside the UK or EEA.
• Where transfers occur to countries without an adequacy decision, we use UK-approved safeguards such as the International Data Transfer Agreement (IDTA), the UK Addendum to EU Standard Contractual Clauses, or the UK–US Data Bridge for US providers.

Retention of cookie data

• Analytics data: retained for up to 26 months, unless you withdraw consent earlier.
• Essential cookies: kept only as long as needed for site functionality.
• Marketing cookies (if introduced): retention periods will be clearly stated and based on your consent.

Your rights

Under UK GDPR and UK data protection law, you have the right to:

• Be informed about cookies and similar technologies used on our site.
• Give or refuse consent for non-essential cookies.
• Change your consent settings at any time.
• Request information about data collected via cookies and how it is processed.

If you have any concerns, please contact us at Admin@wildaboutargyll.co.uk

Updates to this Cookie Policy

We review this Cookie Policy regularly to ensure it reflects changes in legislation, technology, and our practices. The Last Updated” date at the top will tell you when it was last reviewed.

When the DPDI Act changes come into force, we will update this policy to explain any new exemptions or requirements clearly.