Information for the applicants to the ITB Buyers Circle
pursuant to the EU-General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Messe Berlin GmbH (hereinafter “Messe Berlin”) attaches great importance to data protection. This privacy notice informs about the processing of personal data in connection with the application to the ITB Buyers Circle and supplements the Data Protection Notice on the website of Messe Berlin. Where necessary, separate privacy notices will be provided for specific processing activities.
1. Controller and data protection officer
Controller within the meaning of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR): Messe Berlin GmbH, Messedamm 22, 14055 Berlin, Germany, e-mail: info@messe-berlin.de.
Data protection officer: group data protection officer of Messe Berlin (address: as before; e-mail: datenschutz@messe-berlin.de).
2. Categories and sources of personal data
Messe Berlin processes the following data in connection with the application for participation in the ITB Buyers Circle: name, title, e-mail address, telephone number, business address, position, department, years of experience in the tourism industry, as well as company name, website and information regarding the applicant's business activities. In addition, information is collected for the assessment of the application, including the applicant's main interest in joining the ITB Buyers Circle, areas of business activity, tourism categories and products of interest, purchasing responsibilities, purchasing volume, business transaction cycles, company turnover, number of employees, procurement and contracting processes, existing and prospective business partners, geographical areas of business activity and previous participation in ITB Berlin. Applicants may voluntarily provide further information, including a link to their LinkedIn profile and additional comments regarding their application. Fields that are mandatory for the application process are marked accordingly in the application form.
Where an applicant is accepted into the ITB Buyers Circle, personal data will also be processed for the administration of the membership, the provision of membership benefits, participation in networking activities via the ITB Navigator and the creation and administration of the complimentary ITB ticket. Further information regarding ticket-related processing can be found in the applicable ITB ticket shop privacy notice.
Where an application for the ITB Buyers Circle membership is submitted on behalf of another person (third party), or personal data relating to another person are provided, the person submitting the application must ensure and confirm that they are authorized to provide such data to Messe Berlin, that Messe Berlin may lawfully process the data for the purposes described in section 3, and that the person concerned has been sufficiently informed about the processing of their personal data in accordance with this notice.
3. Purposes and legal bases of processing
Messe Berlin processes the personal data referred to in Section 2 for the purpose of administering the application process for the ITB Buyers Circle and, where applicable, establishing and performing the contractual relationship with successful applicants (legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR).
Furthermore, Messe Berlin processes personal data regarding the professional interest in attending ITB Berlin, position’s level of responsibility and geographical interests as well as the data of the company (section 2) to evaluate the registration appropriately. The legal basis is the legitimate interest of Messe Berlin to select an exclusive and high-quality group of buyers in the industry and to ensure this quality feature for the ITB Buyers Circle (legal basis: Art. 6 (1) (f) GDPR).
All applicants will be informed of the outcome of the evaluation process by e-mail. Successful applicants will receive confirmation of their membership in the ITB Buyers Circle.
The personal data of accepted ITB Buyers Circle members are transferred to the digital event platform “ITB Navigator”. Within the platform, the member's name and company name will be visible to suppliers using the ITB Navigator. The visibility of the profile can be deactivated at any time. The legal basis for the transfer of personal data to ITB Navigator and the processing of personal data within the platform is the contractual relationship between the ITB Buyers Circle member and Messe Berlin in connection with the ITB Buyers Circle (Art. 6 (1) (b) GDPR). Further information on the processing of personal data in the ITB Navigator can be found on the digital event platform.
4. Categories of recipients and data transfer to third countries
External service providers are used to carry out certain processing activities (in particular hosting, IT support), which process the personal data on behalf of Messe Berlin (so-called “processors”).
Some of the processors are located in third countries outside the EU, which do not provide the same level of data protection as the EU. Messe Berlin will only transfer personal data to those third countries if the European Commission has adopted a so-called adequacy decision in this respect (Art. 45 GDPR) or otherwise where appropriate safeguards in accordance with Art. 46 GDPR have been provided, in particular standard data protection clauses adopted by the European Commission pursuant to Art. 46 (2) (c) GDPR and, where necessary, supplementary measures. A copy of the safeguards can be obtained upon request (e.g., by e-mail – for contact details see section 1 above).
5. Storage period
Personal data will be deleted once it is no longer required for the purposes for which it was collected and processed. Where processing is based on consent or on the legitimate interests of Messe Berlin, the relevant data will no longer be processed for the respective purpose and, where applicable, will be deleted following the withdrawal of consent or an objection to the processing, unless an exception under applicable law applies. Notwithstanding the above, personal data that is subject to statutory retention obligations under commercial or tax law will only be deleted after the applicable retention periods have expired (generally six or ten years). Records relating to consents will be retained for up to three years after the consent has been withdrawn or otherwise ceased to be valid.
6. Data protection rights
To exercise the following rights, data subjects can contact the controller at any time (contact details see section 1 above).
Rights of the data subjects pursuant to Art. 12-21 GDPR: the right to access personal data, the right to rectification, erasure and data portability as well as to restriction of processing. If consent has been given, this can be withdrawn at any time with effect for the future.
Rights of objection
If the processing is based on legitimate interests, there is the right to object to the processing of personal data for reasons relating to the particular situation.
Furthermore, there is the right to object to the processing and use of data for advertising purposes at any time. The newsletters also include an unsubscribe link.
If data subjects are of the opinion that the data processing violates data protection law, they have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority of their choice (Art. 77 GDPR).