LONDON (Reuters) – Prince Harry on Tuesday hailed the work of his travel initiative that he set up to make tourism more sustainable, as the fallout from a clash with the head of his African charity continues to make headlines.
King Charles’ younger son is rarely out of the news, from his estrangement from the British royal family to coverage of content he and wife Meghan have produced for streaming service Netflix.
The latest issue to grab media attention is a dispute with the head of his Sentebale charity, set up in honour of his late mother Princess Diana to help young people with HIV and AIDS in Lesotho and Botswana.
Sentebale chair Sophie Chandauka has given interviews accusing him of “harassment and bullying at scale” after he and other trustees quit the charity, while they in turn have disputed her version of events.
That quarrel looks set to overshadow the release of the “Five Year Milestone Report” by Travalyst, the not-for-profit scheme Harry set up in 2019 with the aim of helping travellers cut their carbon emissions, prevent over-tourism and develop local economies.
In a video message to accompany the report, Harry, 40, said not enough progress was being made towards sustainable goals.
“These realities leave us with a choice – find practical solutions to climate change, or accept the massive financial and human losses that it’s causing,” he said.
The goal of Travalyst, which is backed by major tourism industry companies including Google, Booking.com, TripAdvisor, and Expedia, was simple, he added.
“I wanted to harness travel’s power and potential to help create a more resilient world, and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished,” he said.
“We’re bringing sustainable solutions to the mainstream, providing travellers with clear information that helps them make better and more informed choices, which is what we know consumers want.”
(Reporting by Michael Holden; editing by Mark Heinrich)
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