Travalyst, the not-for-profit organisation founded by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, celebrated its five-year anniversary during Climate Week NYC.
During the event – the organisation, acting as a coalition is made up travel giants including Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, Mastercard, Sabre, Skyscanner, Travelport, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor and Visa – announced its vision for the next five years.
It hopes to centralise the collection and distribution of sustainability data for key aspects of travel and tourism to help travellers make informed decisions about how and where they travel to.
Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, said: “I’ve seen firsthand how travel and tourism can be a double-edged sword, both a force that has the potential to do tremendous good, or if mismanaged, inflict significant harm.
“These experiences, as well as years of conversation and debate around campfires with experts that I’m proud to call friends, have shaped my understanding of the critical bond between people, wildlife, and the environment we share.”
“By 2030, we’re expecting 1.8 billion international arrivals each year; nearly double the numbers we saw just two decades ago.
“That kind of growth can only be sustainable if we prioritise not just profit, but people and places too.
“And this is where Travalyst’s work becomes so crucial. Together, Travalyst and its partners represent a combined market value of nearly $3 trillion.
“This is a massive force for good, and we’re committed to using it to ensure that travel not only sustains communities but helps them thrive.”
Sally Davey, CEO of Travalyst, added: “Today, there is no single source of truth for sustainability data for the tourism industry.
“The information that does exist is fragmented, incomplete and often behind paywalls. This can leave the industry feeling overwhelmed and frustrated, and travellers confused and disengaged. We want to help change that.
“Travalyst is working to align the industry behind the same sustainability data for accommodation providers, and then scale this information so that travellers see the full picture of where they are staying, beyond price and reviews.
“We aim to do this in a way that democratises access to information and ensures vital sustainability data is available to everyone.”
With a current focus on accommodation, long term Travalyst aims to consider other areas of travel and tourism such as rail, activities and destinations.
As part of the update, Travalyst announced it has acquired the Weeva platform, a sustainability platform that shares the “same vision” as Travalyst for democratising access to sustainability information in travel.
Travalyst also announced an expansion of its leadership team with two executive hires.
Julie Cheetham joins the team as chief operations officer.
Cheetham is a sustainability leader with over 20 years’ experience and was part of the initial group of thought leaders to found Weeva, where, as CEO, she grew the business into a multi-award-winning platform used in 86 countries.
Amina Razvi also joins the team as chief partnerships and development officer.
Razvi has been a trailblazer in the global apparel and textile industry, known for driving the adoption of the Higg Index and cultivating an unprecedented level of industry collaboration and change whilst CEO at Sustainable Apparel Coalition (now Cascale)
