Prince Harry — presumably speaking from inside his Montecito home —made a surprise appearance at the annual meeting hosted by his nonprofit organization, Travalyst, which addresses sustainable tourism.
Looking relaxed in a collared shirt and blazer, The Duke of Sussex, 39, appeared virtually on Tuesday, April 16, as members of the Travalyst coalition met in the South of France for the two-day summit that brings together the biggest brands in both travel and technology.
“Travel and tourism relies on destinations, held together by communities, without which we have nowhere to travel to,” Harry said during Tuesday’s meeting. “Communities are the beating heart of travel, and we must do better by the people who are the custodians of the places we visit.”
Harry offered a shout-out to several organizations, including Invisible Cities and Global Himalayan Expedition.
“More and more people are wanting to make informed travel choices so that the benefit of travel is felt by all,” Harry continued. “Travalyst and its partners bring a combined market value of nearly $3 trillion and are working hard to provide that resource at a systems level.”
Harry founded Travalyst in 2019, and has worked with his partners to deliver clear, consistent and credible sustainability information to the public so they can make informed travel decisions. During this year’s summit, the organization expanded its Independent Advisory Group, made up of sustainability experts, to include a new chairperson.
Since its inception, Travalyst has focused specifically on accommodation and aviation, forming a coalition of brands including Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, Mastercard, Tripadvisor and Visa, among others.
Harry’s virtual appearance to support Travalyst comes days after the Duke of Sussex’s latest business venture was announced. He and wife Meghan Markle are set to continue their Netflix deal with two upcoming unscripted shows for the streaming platform.
While Meghan, 42, is set to host her forthcoming cooking show for Netflix, it’s unclear if Harry will appear in his series, which is set to showcase the world of professional polo.
Both shows are part of the deal that Meghan and Harry inked with Netflix in 2020, after they officially left the royal family.
Harry also worked with his close friend Nacho Figueras for the forthcoming series. (The pair attended the Sentebale Polo Cup in Florida this past weekend, presumably filming for the show.)
“We’ve been working on this for a long time,” Fugueras told Hello! of the series on Friday, April 12. “It was always Harry’s dream and passion to share the world, what it takes to be a really competitive polo player and show polo at the highest level.”
He added, “I cannot think of many people that can be better than him to be the kickoff of this storytelling.”
