Privacy & Terms of Use

Terms of Use

Access to and use of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism meetings and conventions marketing web site, www.meetinwisconsin.com is provided subject to these terms and conditions. PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY AS USE OF THIS SITE CONSTITUTES ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.

Disclaimer of Liability

Neither the State of Wisconsin, the Department of Tourism nor any of its officers, employees or agents shall be held liable for any improper or incorrect use of the information described and/or contained herein and assumes no responsibility for anyone's use of the information. In no event shall the Department or its employees be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, or consequential damages (including, but not limited to, procurement or substitute goods or services; loss of use, data, or profits; or business interruption) however caused and on any theory of liability, whether in contract, strict liability, or tort (including negligence or otherwise) arising in any way out of the use of this system, even if advised of the possibility of such damage. This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury, including but not limited to those caused by any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, computer virus, communication line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, alteration of, or use of record, whether for breach of contract, tortuous behavior, negligence or under any other cause of action.

Disclaimer of Warranties And Accuracy of Data

Although the data found using the Department's access systems have been produced and processed from sources believed to be reliable, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made regarding accuracy, adequacy, completeness, legality, reliability or usefulness of any information. This disclaimer applies to both isolated and aggregate uses of the information. The Department provides this information on an "as is" basis. All warranties of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, freedom from contamination by computer viruses and non-infringement of proprietary rights are disclaimed. Changes will be periodically made to the information herein; these changes may or may not be incorporated in any new version of the publication. If you have obtained information, originally created by the Department, from a source other than the Department's pages, be aware that electronic data can be altered subsequent to original distribution. Data can also quickly become out-of-date. It is recommended that careful attention is paid to the contents of any data associated with a file, and that the originator of the data or information be contacted with any questions regarding appropriate use. If you find any errors or omissions, we encourage you to report them to the Department's web administrator at the following address: webfeedback@tourism.state.wi.us

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The Department is a distributor of content sometimes supplied by third parties and users. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by third parties, including information providers, users, or others, are those of the respective author(s) or distributor(s) and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Department and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement purposes. Reference herein to any specific commercial products, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the Department.

Disclaimer for External Links

The Department is not responsible for the contents of any off-site pages referenced. The user specifically acknowledges that the Department is not liable for the defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of other users, links, or third parties and that the risk of injury from the foregoing rests entirely with the user. Links from the Department on the World Wide Web to other sites do not constitute an endorsement from the Department. These links are provided as an information service only. It is the responsibility of the Web user to evaluate the content and usefulness of information obtained from other sites. The Department's Homepage contains links to other related World Wide Web Internet sites and resources. Since the Department's Homepage is not responsible for the availability of these outside resources or their contents, you should direct any concerns regarding any external link to its site administrator or Webmaster.

Disclaimer of Duty to Continue Provision of Data

Due to the dynamic nature of the Internet, resources that are free and publicly available one day may require a fee or restricted access the next, and the location of items may change as menus, homepages, and files are reorganized. The user expressly agrees that use of the Department's Industry Web site is at the user's sole risk. The Department does not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted or error free. The documents and related graphics published on this server could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically added to the information herein. The Department and/or its respective programs may make improvements and/or changes in the information and/or programs described herein at any time.

Security Measures

For site security purposes, and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, the Department's computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage.

Copyright

The material on the Department's Web site is for the noncommercial use of the general public. The fair use guidelines of the U.S. copyright statutes apply to all material on this Web site. The Department shall remain the sole and exclusive owner of all rights, title and interest in and to all copyrighted information created and posted for inclusion in this system. Photographs and graphics, as well as the design of the Web site itself, are the property of this Department or of parties with whom the Department has expressly contracted for work on its behalf. For a copy or use of information on the Department Web site that is outside of the fair use provisions of copyright law, please seek permission from the individual listed as responsible for the page. If you have any questions on using material on the Department's Web site, please contact the Department's web administrator at the following address: webfeedback@tourism.state.wi.us If permission to reproduce or to redistribute is granted then the following statement shall be included, "Reproduced with permission from the Wisconsin Department of Tourism".

Choice of Law

Construction of the disclaimers above and resolution of disputes thereof are governed by the laws of the State of Wisconsin and of the United States. The laws of the State of Wisconsin and of the United States shall apply to all uses of this data and this system. By use of this system and any data contained therein, the user agrees that use shall conform to all applicable laws and regulations and user shall not violate the rights of any third parties.

Solicitation Prohibited

Use of the Wisconsin State Government information technology system to send unlawful faxes and e-mail to Wisconsin State Government and its employees is prohibited.

Linking to the Wisconsin Department of Tourism Web site

Links to the Department's Web sites are permissible, if not encouraged. However, we do ask that links point to the home page (http://www.meetinwisconsin.com) rather than to a specific page as those links may change.

Privacy and Legal

State of Wisconsin laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records provided by both state and federal laws. These exceptions include the privacy of individuals.

Information collected at this site becomes public record and may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exception in law exists. During your visit to the Department 's Web site, information that is not readily identifiable to an individual is automatically collected and stored. This information is used solely to improve our Web services. For more detail on our privacy policy, please see the expanded statement following.

Information Collected and How It is Used

If you do nothing during your visit to the Department's Web site but browse or download information, we automatically collect and store the following information about your visit:

• The Internet Protocol address and domain name used but not the e-mail address.
• The Internet Protocol address is a numerical identifier assigned either to yourInternet service provider or directly to your computer. We use the Internet Protocol Address to direct Internet traffic to you;
• The type of browser and operating system you used and your connection speed;
• The date and time you visited this site;
• The Web pages or services you accessed at this site; and
• The Web site you visited prior to coming to this Web site.
• If you download a publication, the publication that you downloaded.
• The actions you took while on the site.

The information we automatically collect or store is used to improve the content of our Web services and to help us understand how people are using our services. The Department analyzes our Web site logs to continually improve the value of the materials available on our site. Our Web site logs are not personally identifiable, and we make no attempt to link them with the individuals that browse the Department's Web site.

If during your visit to the Department's Web site you participate in a survey or send an e-mail, the following additional information will be collected:

• E-mail correspondence: The e-mail address and contents of the e-mail;
• Surveys: Any information you volunteered in response to a survey.

The information collected is not limited to text characters and may include audio, video, and graphic information formats you send us. The information is retained in accordance with Wisconsin Open Records Law. We use your e-mail to respond appropriately. This may be to respond to you, to address issues you identify, to further improve our Web site, or to forward the e-mail to another agency for appropriate action. Survey information is used for the purpose designated.

"Personal information" is information about an individual that is readily identifiable to that specific individual. Personal information includes personal identifiers such as an individual's name, address, and phone number. A domain name or Internet Protocol address is not considered personal information.

We collect no personal information about you unless you voluntarily participate in an activity that asks for information (i.e. sending an e-mail or participating in a survey, registering an account or participating in a Blog or subscription to our e-mail newsletters). If you choose not to participate in these activities, your choice will in no way affect your ability to use any other feature of the Department's Web site.

If personal information is requested on the Web site or volunteered by the user, state law and the federal Privacy Act of 1974 may protect it. However, this information is a public record once you provide it, and may be subject to public inspection and copying if not protected by federal or state law.

Users are cautioned that the collection of personal information requested from or volunteered by children on-line or by e-mail will be treated the same as information given by an adult and may be subject to public access.

In the State of Wisconsin, laws exist to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to access appropriate records and information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions to the public's right to access public records that serve various needs: the privacy of individuals is included among these exceptions. Exceptions are provided by both state and federal laws.

We strive to protect personally identifiable information by collecting only information necessary to deliver our services. All information collected at this site becomes public record that may be subject to inspection and copying by the public, unless an exemption in law exists.

In the event of a conflict between this Privacy Notice and the Wisconsin Open Records Law or other law governing the disclosure of records, the Wisconsin Open Records Law or other applicable law will control.

You can review any personal information we collect about you. You may recommend changes to your personal information you believe in error by submitting a written request that credibly shows the error. If you believe that your personal information is being used for a purpose other than what was intended when submitted, you may contact us. In all cases, we will take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections. See Contact Information section.

What is a Cookie

A cookie is a small amount of data, which may include an anonymous unique identifier, that is sent to your browser from a Web site's computers and may either be used only during your session (a "session" cookie) or may be stored on your computer's hard drive (a "persistent" cookie). Cookies can contain data about user movement during the visit to the Web site. If your browser software is set to allow cookies, a Web site can send its own cookie to you. A Web site that has set a cookie can only access those cookies it has sent to you, it cannot access cookies sent to you by other sites.

Why are Cookies Used on Web sites?

Cookies are one mechanism for maintaining continuity during a user's visit to a Web site. They allow data to be maintained for users' benefit as they navigate a site. This is referred to as "session" or "state management" cookie. These cookies go away when you terminate your visit to the Web site as they are maintained only in your browser's active memory during your session. Cookies may also be stored on your computer to so that you can be recognized by a Web site on subsequent visits. They can be read by the Web site that set them whenever you enter the Web site. They are often used on Web sites that require you to log in to save you entering all of your log-in information. They may store information on your unique identifier and the areas of the Web site you have visited before. These cookies are stored on your computer's hard drive after you have left your Web site visit and consequently are often referred to as "persistent" cookies.

Choices about Cookies

You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.)

Wisconsin Department of Tourism Practices Regarding Cookies

The Department uses session cookies. The information on these cookies is retained by the Department, only while the user's session is active, in a table that lists the unique identifiers of those currently using the site. When you return to the Department's Web site, you will be given a new cookie. The Department uses third-party cookies from Google Analytics to track website usage.

The Department's business-to-business Web site, industry.travelwisconsin.com has links to other Web sites. These include links to Web sites operated by other government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private businesses. When you link to another site, you are no longer on industry.travelwisconsin.com and this Privacy Notice will not apply. When you link to another Web site, you are subject to the privacy policy of that new site.

To offer comments about this Web site or to comment about the information presented in this Privacy Notice, please contact the Department's web administrator at the following address: webmaster@travelwisconsin.com

Changes to Privacy Policy

The Department reserves the right to modify or supplement this Privacy Policy at any time.

Wisconsin Department of Tourism Public Records Notice

It is the policy of the State of Wisconsin that all persons are entitled to the greatest possible information regarding the affairs of government and the official acts of those officers and employees who represent them. The Department of Tourism administers the state’s tourism programs and policies. The Department promotes and advertises tourism sites and attractions in Wisconsin in order to attract tourists to and from within the state. It provides a variety of tourist information services to travelers in Wisconsin. It provides consultation, technical assistance, and other services from the tourism industry. The Department conducts tourism research and reports on state economic and other trends affecting Wisconsin tourism. The Department consists of the Office of the Secretary, Bureau of Marketing & Advertising, Bureau of Industry and Agency Services and the Office of Marketing Services. Secretary, Deputy Secretary and Communications Director are state public officials. Anne Sayers, Secretary-designee and legal custodian of Department of Tourism public records has delegated the responsibility to act as legal custodian to Maria Van Hoorn. Members of the public may inspect and copy public records of the Department by making an oral or written request for the specific records sought to Wisconsin Department of Tourism, 3319 West Beltline Hwy, Post Office Box 8690, Madison, Wisconsin, 53708, by email to TourismRecords@travelwisconsin.com or by phone at (608) 267-0752. The public records of the Department of Tourism are available for inspection and copying during normal business hours. Except for legal holidays, those hours are:  

• Monday–Friday: 7:45 – 11:45 AM and 12:30 – 4:30 PM

The Department may charge $ .15 per page for photocopies. When requested and whenever practicable, the Department will provide electronic copies of records that already exist in electronic format without charging reproduction fees on a per-page basis. The Department may charge the actual, necessary, and direct cost of any transcription, photographic work or postage. The Department may charge the actual, necessary, and direct costs of locating the records if it exceeds $50. Any staff time for locating records will be billed at the hourly rate of salary and for the lowest-paid employee capable of performing the task. The hourly rate charged for locating records may also include the cost of benefits, but will not exceed $30 per hour. The Department will not charge for the cost of reviewing records for possible redaction or removal of confidential information. Requests which exceed a total cost of $5.00 may require prepayment. All requests will be processed as soon as practicable and without delay.