Travalyst, the not-for-profit organisation founded by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, celebrated its five-year anniversary during Climate Week NYC.
The event in New York brought the world’s leading brands in travel and tech together to address the significant impact travel and tourism have on people and place. Travel and tourism is responsible for about 11%1 of global greenhouse gas emissions, as well as having widespread impacts on communities, biodiversity, economic equity, and more. Travalyst aims to make sustainability information more accessible to people so they can make more informed choices about their travel.
Travalyst was launched in 2019 and has since brought together a global alliance of leading brands, including Amadeus Booking.com Expedia Group Google, Mastercard Sabre Skyscanner Travelport Trip.com Group Tripadvisor Visa. Travalyst aims to align the travel industry behind clear, consistent and credible sustainability information, and then – with its critical mass of platforms – scales this information globally.
Travalyst has had a mission since the beginning to provide travellers with sustainability information at the time of booking and planning. Travalyst announced earlier this month that it had scaled emission estimates for flights across millions of searches on major booking platforms. This was a first step to support travellers in finding lower emitting options. Travalyst wants to build on its success and drive similar levels of adoption for the accommodation industry.
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 and years of conversation around campfires with expert friends that I am proud to call my friends have shaped the way I view the relationship between people, wildlife and the environment.
“By 2020, we’re expecting to see 1.8 billion arrivals from abroad each year. That’s nearly double what we saw in the last two decades. This kind of growth is only sustainable if we put people and places before profit. Travalyst can be of great help in this area. Travalyst’s work and that of its partners represents a combined value of almost $3 trillion. This is an enormous force for good. We’re committed in using it to make sure that travel not only sustains but also helps communities thrive.”
Sally Davey, CEO Travalyst, said: “Today, there is no single source of truth for sustainability data for the tourism industry. The information available is fragmented, insufficient and often behind paywalls. This can lead to an industry that feels overwhelmed and frustrated, as well as travellers who are confused and disengaged. We want to change that. Travalyst aims to align the entire industry around the same sustainability data, for accommodation providers. Then, they scale this information, so that travellers can see the whole picture of where and how they are staying beyond price and reviews.
We aim to do it in a way which democratises information and ensures that vital sustainability data is accessible to everyone.”
Travalyst is currently focused on accommodation but in the long run, Travalyst will also consider other aspects of travel and tourism, such as rail, destinations, activities, and destinations.
Travalyst has announced that, in order to support its mission, it has also acquired the Weeva platform. This organisation shares the same vision with Travalyst, which is to democratise access for travel information on sustainability. Weeva was originally a vision of Oppenheimer Family, a family well-known for its investments in sustainable travel and conservation. The team created a highly regarded website that Travalyst acquired and is now integrating into its next phase.
Travalyst has also announced two new executive hires to its leadership team. Julie Cheetham is appointed Chief Operations Officer. Cheetham, a sustainability leader of over 20 years, was part of the original group of thought leaders who founded Weeva. As CEO, she grew Weeva into a multiaward-winning platform that is used in 86 different countries. Amina Razvi joins the team in the role of Chief Partnerships and Development officer. Razvi was a trailblazer within the global apparel industry. She was known for driving the Higg Index adoption and cultivating a level of collaboration and change unprecedented in the industry as CEO at Sustainable Apparel Coalition.
