Privacy Policy
Overview
Travel into the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) involves additional documentation and oversight compared with most destinations we serve, since foreign visitors must travel with a registered guide and hold a Tibet Travel Permit (TTP) issued through our Chinese ground-partner agency. This notice explains what personal data that process requires, and how we handle it.
What Information Is Needed
To arrange your Tibet journey, we typically request:
- Passport bio-page scan and current visa status for entry into the People's Republic of China
- Full legal name exactly as it appears on your passport (required for permit accuracy — mismatches can cause denial of entry)
- Occupation and employer details (certain professions, such as journalists or diplomats, face additional TTP scrutiny)
- Travel itinerary preferences, including any restricted-area routes (e.g., Mount Kailash, Everest Base Camp North side, Ngari)
- Health information relevant to altitude acclimatization
- Group composition, since Tibet permits are typically issued for tour groups rather than solo travelers
- Payment and billing details
- Website usage data such as IP address and browser type, collected through standard cookies
How Your Data Is Used
- Submitting your Tibet Travel Permit application through our licensed local partner agency in Lhasa
- Applying for Alien's Travel Permit or Military Permit where your route requires it
- Assigning a government-accredited local guide, who must accompany foreign travelers throughout TAR
- Booking permitted hotels (only certain hotels are authorized to host foreign guests in Tibet)
- Coordinating group logistics, since solo foreign travel within TAR is not permitted
- Communicating entry requirement changes, which can shift with limited notice
- Fulfilling requirements of Chinese authorities governing foreign visitors to autonomous regions
Disclosure of Your Information
Because Tibet travel is administered jointly with a Chinese-registered ground operator, your data will necessarily be shared with:
- Our licensed Tibetan/Chinese ground handling partner, who submits permit paperwork to the Tibet Tourism Bureau
- Public Security Bureau checkpoints, where permit and passport verification occurs during travel
- Hotels approved to accommodate foreign nationals
- The designated local guide assigned to your group
- Airlines and rail operators serving Lhasa and connecting cities
We limit disclosure to what each party needs to complete its function, but travelers should understand that Tibet's entry system inherently involves government review of traveler identity documents, consistent with China's regulations for the region.
Data Security
We transmit permit documentation through secured channels to our ground partner and restrict internal access to designated Tibet-desk staff. That said, once documents are submitted to Chinese permit-issuing authorities, their handling falls under the jurisdiction and legal framework of the People's Republic of China, including its Personal Information Protection Law, rather than solely our own policies.
Retention
Permit-related documents are kept only as long as needed to process your trip and satisfy record-keeping obligations of our ground partner; we do not retain passport scans beyond what is necessary once your journey concludes, unless you have an upcoming return trip on file.
Your Rights
Where practicable, you may request access to, correction of, or deletion of the information we hold. Please note some requests (for example, deleting permit records already lodged with Chinese authorities) may not be actionable on our end once submitted.
Not Suitable for Certain Travelers
Due to permit restrictions, we cannot process bookings for journalists, diplomats, or citizens of certain countries without additional clearance, and data collected for eligibility screening is used solely for that purpose.
Changes to This Notice
Tibet entry requirements change more frequently than in our other destinations. We revise this notice whenever permit rules or data-handling obligations shift, and recommend reviewing it close to your travel date.
Contact
Journey DMC — Tibet Desk Website: https://journeydmctibet.com/ Please mark enquiries "Tibet Permit & Privacy" for fastest routing.