Prince Harry Urges Travel Industry to Prioritize Local Destinations
At the Skift Global Forum, Prince Harry called on travel executives to measure destination health alongside business metrics, noting tourism accounts for 7.3% of global emissions.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Prince Harry urged the travel industry to prioritize the health and wellbeing of local communities and destinations.
- He stated that tourism companies should measure destination success alongside traditional business performance metrics.
- The global travel and tourism sector accounts for roughly 7.3% of greenhouse gas emissions, according to the WTTC.
- Travalyst has introduced new data collection tools and a rail emissions model to support sustainable destination management.
The Duke of Sussex and founder of Travalyst, Prince Harry, called on the travel industry during a speech at the Skift Global Forum on Wednesday to prioritize the health and value of the people and places it sells, emphasizing that long-term business success relies on the longevity of those destinations.
Prince Harry challenged travel executives to measure the health of destinations with the same rigor they apply to traditional business metrics such as RevPAR and load factors. He also urged leaders to compare their AI and technology budgets for 2026 with the investments they make toward the long-term health of the locations their businesses depend on.
Photo by Teemu Paananen / Unsplash
His remarks follow widespread pushback on the ground in popular destinations after a summer marked by extreme heat, wildfires, and drought. According to the World Travel & Tourism Council, the travel and tourism sector is responsible for approximately 7.3% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
“We must remember there is no successful travel industry without successful destinations.”
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
Travalyst, the coalition launched by the Prince in 2019 alongside partners including Expedia Group, Booking.com, Google, and Amadeus, designated destinations and communities as its top priority in its 2025 progress report. The initiative has deployed a Data Hub for sustainability metrics, released an Amadeus-built mobile app for data collection in remote areas, and adopted a new rail emissions model from partner Squake.
This call to action highlights a broader industry shift toward regenerative tourism, pushing companies to move beyond traditional sustainability reporting and actively invest in the resources and communities that power their business operations rather than treating destinations as infinite commodities.
Source: Skift
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