Destinations

Travel: A Catalyst For Good

The Duke of Sussex has announced a major new global partnership aimed at improving conservation, environmental protection and expanding local community economic development by encouraging sustainable tourism practices across the travel industry.

Called Travalyst, the partnership has been created to mobilize the travel industry as a catalyst for good, aiming to transform the future of travel for everyone.

In announcing the initiative, His Royal Highness, The Duke of Sussex said: “Travel has the unparalleled power to open people’s minds to different cultures, new experiences and to have a profound appreciation for what our world has to offer.”

He continued: “As tourism inevitably grows, it is critically important to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices worldwide; and to balance this growth with the needs of the environment and the local population. Bringing companies, consumers and communities together is our best chance to protect destinations and ecosystems for future generations.”

Led by His Royal Highness and co-founded alongside leading service providers in the travel industry – Booking.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor and Visa – this first-of-its-kind initiative is dedicated to exploring and promoting solutions that will make travel more sustainable.

The Travalyst initiative brings together global businesses – those at the centre of connecting customers and operators in the travel market – to utilize their unique position to educate, raise awareness and promote positive change.

The Travalyst initiative is looking to establish more collaborative partnerships that bring together the collective expertise and perspectives of local communities, policymakers, governments, NGOs, other leading businesses and social entrepreneurs; leveraging technology and strategic initiatives to help scale the global supply of sustainable travel options to meet the growing mass-market demand from consumers.

Further details of new initiatives launched by the Travalyst partnership will be announced in due course.

Go to www.travalyst.org for more.

In the photo

Seen here, from l to r, at the launch event are Kanika Soni, President Hotels, TripAdvisor; Gillian Tan, Chairperson, Booking.com; The Duke of Sussex; Jane Sun, CEO, Ctrip; Suzan Kereere, Global Head of Merchant Sales and Acquiring, VISA; and Bryan Dove, CEO, Skyscanner.