01 August 2023 , 11:55
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Prince Harry's sustainable tourism project has insisted he is still an 'invaluable part' of the organisation - despite not being mentioned in its latest revamp.
London-based non-profit Travalyst was launched by Harry in 2019 when he and his wife Meghan Markle were still working royals. It aimed to make tourism and travel more eco-friendly and sustainable by bringing major travel firms such as TripAdvisor and Skyscanner together.
Harry was the face of the project, despite admitting to taking private jets. However, it emerged that earlier this year in May that Travalyst made a major announcement, where it revealed its transition from a "pilot phase" to a new board of five people with "world-class expertise" - with no mention of Harry.
Prince Harry at the launch of Travalyst in 2019 (Getty Images)
Harry has defended his use of private jets (Getty Images)In addition, Harry is only mentioned in recent press releases by the project in the 'about us' blurb at the bottom of the release. This is in comparison to releases from 2022, where Harry was mentioned prominently at the top of the text.
However, it is now understood that Travalyst did not name Harry in the revamped board announcement as his commitment to the project remains the same. In a statement, the CEO of Travalyst Sally Davey said: "Prince Harry is the founder of Travalyst and remains an invaluable part of this organisation. His role has not changed in any way, and he is regularly involved in strategic discussions and decisions alongside our partners and board."
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It comes after Harry raised eyebrows in December after urging travellers to fly less in a Travalyst newsletter - while wife Meghan joked about the couple's copious amounts of air miles. The newsletter suggested holidaymakers could take fewer trips, opt for economy class and pack light in a bid to be more sustainable.
Meanwhile, sharing her private wedding speech for the first time on their Netflix series, Meghan quipped about how the couple racked "up more air miles than any couple could have" when they were long-distance between London and Toronto.
While promoting the project Harry was forced to defend his use of private jets, saying there are occasions he needs to keep his family safe. While launching Travalyst four years ago in Amsterdam, the prince said "no one is perfect" and "we can all do better" when it comes to tackling environmental issues. He added: "I came here by commercial. I spend 99 per cent of my life travelling the world by commercial. Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure my family are safe and it's genuinely as simple as that."
In his speech, he added: "We can all do better. And while no one is perfect, we are all responsible for our own individual impact; the question is what we do to balance it out. 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."