Prince Harry still an 'invaluable part' of Travalyst says CEO

Prince Harry has not parted ways with Travalyst. On the contrary, he remains an important part of the company and its decisions.

Chief Executive Officer for Travalyst Sally Davey denied claims that the Duke of Sussex is no longer part of the sustainable tourism initiative he founded in 2019. She said in a statement sent to People on Monday that he "is the founder of Travalyst and remains an invaluable part of this organization."

She added, "His role has not changed in any way, and he is regularly involved in strategic discussions and decisions alongside our partners and Board."

Rumours of his exit came after Davey welcomed new board members to Travalyst without a mention of Prince Harry. She said in a statement in May, "Today we formally mark the end of Travalyst's pilot phase with the appointment of a new Board to govern and guide us on our journey ahead to delivering major positive and system-changing impact." She said the board comprises "individuals with world-class expertise in impact, systems change, not-for-profit governance, advocacy, and campaigning for a just and sustainable world."

Prince Harry is listed as a patron and founder on the company's website. The same site reveals Travalyst's mission to "bring credible, consistent sustainability information to the mainstream, helping both travellers and travel companies make better, greener choices."

"Travalyst provides supportive, independent, and neutral governance, empowering our Coalition of some of the biggest – and occasionally competing – travel companies and service providers to share data and accelerate change." Its global Coalition includes Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, Skyscanner, Travelport, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor, and Visa.

During his inaugural speech for Travalyst in September 2019, Prince Harry revealed that he came up with the idea of a green travel initiative following an unexpected interaction with a 7-year-old boy during his visit to a coral reef replanting project in the Caribbean in 2012.

He shared that the boy came up to him, tugged at his shirt, and told him with such conviction "Because of your country, my country's coral reef is dying." The Duke of Sussex said the young boy "touched on a powerful truth" and that despite his age, he "already understood that the environmental damage caused to the reef was created by the actions of people outside of his country."

Prince Harry said the boys' words deeply affected him because they "revealed the full impact outsiders can have on a community without even realising it." He also shared that he learned over the past decade from visiting Botswana, Nepal, the Caribbean, and New Zealand, that the world "faces environmental challenges of unprecedented scope and scale." He cited examples of these challenges including deforestation, the loss of biodiversity, ocean pollution, and poaching, and other problems that can seem too big to fix.

The Duke of Sussex shared his hope for travel to be "conducted responsibly" so it can "benefit communities for generations" to come. He concluded his speech about the role of Travalyst in changing both the travel industry and the world for the better "by promoting and incentivising sustainable decision-making," by helping consumers stay better informed, and by empowering communities.

Aside from aiming for more sustainable tourism, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, along with their team at Archewell Foundation, also pledged to help combat climate change with a goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030. They said they will work with an independent consultant "to track all Archewell-related activities" including internet use and commutes and will use 2022 as the starting year to develop a plan that will help the organisation achieve a more sustainable future. The foundation will also "leverage the expertise" of Travalyst in this mission.