Sustainable travel received a huge boost with the announcement that His Royal Highness, The Duke of Sussex has put his royal stamp on a new industry partnership that is “aimed at improving conservation, environmental protection and expanding local community economic development by encouraging sustainable tourism practices across the travel industry”.
Founding partners in this first-ever global initiative, named ‘Travalyst’, include Booking.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor and Visa.
“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. 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,” said His Royal Highness, The Duke of Sussex.
Travalyst will initially explore and promote solutions that help drive sustainable practices and consumer choices in areas including; supporting local people, protecting wildlife, tackling climate change and environmental damage, and alleviating over-tourism.
Consumer demand for sustainable tourism experiences is clearly pushing the industry towards this course of action.
- 71% of global travellers told Booking.com that they think travel companies should offer more sustainable travel choices, and 68% of people said it was important the money they spent on travel went back into local communities.
- Over the last 12 months, 10 million travellers using Skyscanner selected the lowest CO2 emission flight option.
- 75% of Ctrip’s partners are committed to Ctrip’s 4R initiatives: to Reduce, Reuse, Recycle resources and Regenerate lives in the travel eco-system.
- The global sustainable tourism market is predicted to grow by $340bn, 10%, within the next four years. (TechNavio)
Travalyst’s partners share their thoughts:
“The commitment from these different brands to work together and help build a global network of like-minded social entrepreneurs, NGOs and policymakers is truly inspiring. Collaboration is the only path forward if we want to create a real paradigm shift in travel. We want to protect the destinations we all love and guarantee that they are happy and healthy for generations to come, but we can’t do it on our own. Even though we don’t have all the answers yet, we are determined to find them together.” – Gillian Tans, chairwoman, Booking.com
“Travel is a powerful means of bringing us closer – to share the beauty of our countries and our myriad cultures, to find our common humanity. But with travel comes the duty to protect our fragile planet. That’s why we are working with the brightest minds to ensure that generations to come can follow in our footsteps sustainably and the world and its people can grow together.” – Jane Sun, CEO, Ctrip
“Global travel is a modern-day gift, bringing together cultures and communities across our planet. As such, we have an obligation to preserve our world for future generations to explore and enjoy – but to do this we need to act now as change won’t happen overnight. As the biggest players in the travel industry, we have a responsibility to use our collective scale to lead this change.” – Bryan Dove, CEO, Skyscanner
“We all have a responsibility to try and protect our precious planet and communities for generations to come. I truly believe more can be achieved by joining together than going alone, which is why we’re excited to be part of Travalyst as we collectively seek out ways to make a positive impact on the future of travel.” – Stephen Kaufer, president & CEO, TripAdvisor
“Enabling global travel and commerce through digital payments is one of many ways Visa connects and empowers individuals, businesses and economies every day. We are dedicated to doing so in a way that supports our commitment to sustainability. We are proud to be part of this initiative to support long-term economic growth through tourism.” – Al Kelly, chairman and CEO, Visa
Individuals and organisations can learn more about supporting this work by visiting www.travalyst.org.
