Travalyst annual meeting held in France
The sustainable-tourism nonprofit founded in 2019 by Prince Harry held its annual "Convening" this week in France.
The 2-day event featured a roundtable discussion focused on communities, in which Prince Harry took part virtually from his home in California.
Prince Harry said, in part:
"Travel and tourism relies on destinations, held together by communities, without which we have nowhere to travel to. Communities are the beating heart of travel, and we must do better by the people who are the custodians of the places we visit…More and more people are wanting to make informed travel choices so that the benefit of travel is felt by all. Travalyst and its partners bring a combined market value of nearly $3 trillion, and are working hard to provide that resource at a systems level. "
Travalyst's work to date has been focused on lodging and aviation, with initiatives including:
- Gathering sustainability information about lodging providers
- Developing sustainability certifications for lodging properties
- Organizing emissions estimates to enable people booking flights to make lower emitting travel choices
Personnel changes to Travalyst's Independent Advisory Group announced at the meeting were:
- Departure of Chair Diana Walker to the US Department of State
- Succession of sustainability consultant Dr. Anna Spenceley to Chair
- Appointment of sustainability consultant Sarah Holloway to a new Vice Chair position
- Addition of Professor Sara Dolnicar of the University of Queensland in Australia
Travalyst's industry partners include Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, Mastercard, Sabre, Skyscanner, Travelport, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor and Visa.
