Prince Harry’s charity praises Kiwis’ sustainable travel habits

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, promoting Travalyst - a coalition to put sustainability at the top of the agenda for international travel. Image / Supplied

The sustainable travel company founded by Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, says it chose New Zealand as the ideal launchpad for their first campaign to put sustainable choices on the radar for travellers.

Now Travalyst want to export Kiwi travel values to the world.

The campaign asking Kiwis “How would their holiday rate you?” was the pilot for an ambitious international project to help educate travellers on their sustainability choices.

“As a country of sustainability pioneers, Aotearoa New Zealand felt like the perfect place to conduct our pilot consumer campaign, and we are really grateful for the insights,” said Sally Davey, CEO for Travalyst.

As well as promotion from a video featuring Rhys Darby and Rena Owen, over a thousand New Zealanders were surveyed online.

When asked, 80 per cent said they consider sustainability when planning trips, but almost 45 per cent still had questions as to where they can find options that lived up to their ethics.

“It is clear we need to help consumers better understand what this means in practice, and what steps they can take to change the way they travel for good,” said Davey.

Among the areas of biggest challenge preventing holidaymakers from being as sustainable as they’d like to be was cost and convenience. 71 per cent of respondents saw cost as a potential barrier.

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, appears in a video promoting Travalyst - a coalition to put sustainability at the top of the agenda for international travel. Image / Supplied

Single-use waste, energy used by resorts were all on the radar for eco-conscious travellers. However, it was the environmental impact of getting to or from their destination that was the biggest concern for Kiwis, at 83 per cent.

New Zealanders will be weighing up their travel options as they get around the motu this summer, and looking for more sustainable choices.

Davey says they will use what they have learned from Kiwi travellers and operators to encourage more “world-friendly” travel choices around the globe.

The company which was founded by Prince Harry in 2019 has teamed up with online travel companies including booking platforms, Visa and Google to help put more sustainable travel choices in front of holiday planners.