This is a privacy policy for users of the Visit Lake Saimaa Association’s website, lakesaimaa.fi, in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU 2016/679, GDPR) and data protection legislation.
Effective from: 12 November 2025
1. Data controller
Visit Lake Saimaa ry Business ID: 3104802-3
Address c/o:
Navitas Kehitys Oy
Wredenkatu 8
PL / Box 208, 78201 Varkaus, Finland
Email: toimisto@navitas.fi
Telephone: Tel. 040 736 3001
2. Contact person for data protection matters
Kirsi Mutka-Paintola, Chair of the Association’s Board / Contact person for data protection matters
Email: toimisto@navitas.fi
Telephone: 040 736 3001
The controller does not have a designated data protection officer, as there is no legal obligation to do so.
3. Name of the register
Lakesaimaa.fi website user and analytics data register.
4. Purposes and legal grounds for processing personal data
4.1 Website operation and data security
- Technical operation of the website (e.g. server log data).
- Ensuring data security and investigating misuse.
Legal basis: legitimate interest of the controller (GDPR 6.1 f).
4.2 Website usage statistics and development (Google Analytics)
We use Google Analytics to compile statistics on website usage and for development purposes. The data is used for the following purposes, among others:
- monitoring the number of visitors to the website
- identifying the most popular content
- improving the usability and content of the website.
Legal basis: user consent (GDPR 6.1 a), which is collected via a cookie banner. You can withdraw your consent at any time in the cookie settings.
5. Categories of personal data processed
The data processed in connection with the use of the website may include, for example:
- Data collected via Google Analytics (pseudonyms):
- IP address (abbreviated/anonymised if setting is enabled)
- browser type and version, device type, operating system
- language setting and approximate location (country/region)
- session timestamps, page loads and time spent on pages
- actions taken on the website (e.g. link clicks).
Server logs (technical logging):
- time of page request
- requested address (URL)
- IP address
- technical information about the browser and operating system.
The controller does not collect or store names, email addresses or other directly identifiable personal data through the website, unless a separate form or service is added to the website at a later date to collect such data (in which case the description will be updated).
6. Data retention period
- Google Analytics data: the retention period is 14 months, after which the data is automatically deleted or anonymised from Google’s system in accordance with the settings.
- Server logs: stored for a maximum of 12 months to ensure the security and functioning of the website, after which they are deleted or anonymised.
Retention periods may be changed in accordance with the law and official guidelines, in which case the privacy policy will be updated.
7. Regular sources of information
Data is obtained from:
- the browser of the user of the lakesaimaa.fi website (cookies and similar technologies)
- the server environment (log data)
- the Google Analytics service.
8. Recipients and transfers of personal data
8.1 Service providers
Personal data may be processed in the systems of the following service providers:
- Google Ireland Limited / Google LLC – provision of the Google Analytics service.
Service providers process data on behalf of Visit Lake Saimaa ry and on the basis of an agreement, and may not use the data for their own purposes.
8.2 Transfer of data outside the EU/EEA
Google may transfer analytics data outside the EU/EEA (e.g. to the United States). Transfers are subject to data protection legislation, and Google uses EU-approved standard data protection clauses or other legal transfer mechanisms to protect the transfers.
9. Cookies and similar technologies
Lakesaimaa.fi uses cookies and similar technologies:
- essential cookies (basic website functions, e.g. session)
- analytics cookies (Google Analytics), which are only used with your consent.
You can manage cookies:
- in the website’s cookie banner/cookie settings, and
- in your browser’s own cookie settings (accepting, blocking or deleting cookies).
If you do not accept analytics cookies, Google Analytics will not collect data about your visit.
10. Rights of the data subject
In accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation, you have the following rights:
- Right of access to data – you may request confirmation as to whether personal data concerning you is being processed and obtain a copy of the data, if identification is possible.
- Right to rectification – you can request that inaccurate or incomplete data be corrected.
- Right to erasure – in certain circumstances, you may request the erasure of data concerning you (‘right to be forgotten’).
- Right to restriction of processing – in certain situations, you may request that the processing of your data be restricted.
- Right to object to processing – where processing is based on legitimate interest, you have the right to object to processing on grounds relating to your particular situation.
- Right to withdraw consent – if processing is based on consent (e.g. Google Analytics cookies), you may withdraw your consent at any time. This does not affect the lawfulness of processing carried out before withdrawal.
- Right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority – if you consider that your personal data has been processed in breach of data protection regulations, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the competent supervisory authority: Office of the Data Protection Ombudsman www.tietosuoja.fi Email: tietosuoja@om.fi Postal address: PO Box 800, 00531 Helsinki, Finland
Requests to exercise your rights must be made in writing or by email to the controller’s contact details.
11. Profiling and automated decision-making
No automated individual decisions or large-scale profiling are made on the users of the Lakesaimaa.fi website. The data collected by Google Analytics is used only at an aggregate level for statistics and website development.
12. Data protection
Personal data is protected by appropriate technical and organisational measures:
- secure server connections (HTTPS)
- access control and restricted access rights
- logging and monitoring of the server environment
- contractually based regulation of data processing with service providers.
13. Changes to the policy
We are constantly developing our website and reserve the right to update this privacy policy. Changes may be necessary, for example, due to changes in legislation or our services.
Visit Lake Saimaa is an association founded by the cities in the Lake Saimaa region, promoting regional cooperation from a tourism perspective.