‘It’s crucial that we strive to do better’: Prince Harry makes surprise video appearance from his Montecito home as he tells annual meeting of Travalyst eco firm that, ‘travel and tourism relies on destinations’

Prince Harry made a surprise appearance via video link at the annual general meeting of ecotourism company Travalyst.

The Duke of Sussex, the company’s founder, appeared at the meeting virtually from his home in Montecito, California, where he told bosses it was vital the travel industry did better through local communities in holiday destinations.

He told the board: “Travel and tourism depend on destinations, held together by communities, without which we can’t travel anywhere,” said Harry, appearing via video link from his home in California.

“Communities are the heart of travel, and we need to do better because of the people who steward the places we visit.”

Harry launched the independent non-profit organization based in London in 2019, while he was still a royal, with his wife Meghan Markle.

He spent three years as the public face of the initiative to encourage the tourism sector to become more sustainable – despite furor over his use of private jets

It comes after rumors emerged last year that the Prince had left his role at Travalyst after the company entered an “incredibly exciting” era without any mention of the royal family.

Prince Harry addresses an audience after the launch of Travalyst in Amsterdam in September 2019

The Travalyst program, an independent non-profit organization backed by major tourism companies including Google, Booking.com, TripAdvisor and Expedia, aims to help travelers reduce their carbon emissions, prevent overtourism and develop local economies.

Like his father King Charles, who has been speaking out on issues such as sustainability and climate change for more than 50 years, Harry is also an outspoken advocate of environmental issues.

Harry officially launched Travalyst in September 2019, at a time when he and Meghan faced intense criticism after reportedly taking four private jet trips in 11 days.

The Duke defended himself at the time, saying that ‘no one is perfect’ and that what matters most is ‘what we do to balance the negative effects’.

Harry flew to the Netherlands on a commercial plane for the launch event in Amsterdam, after working on the initiative for three years.

He then spoke in February 2020, at one of his last events as a working royal before stepping down and moving to the US with Meghan, at a Travalyst event in Edinburgh, where he memorably asked to be introduced as ‘Harry’.

The conference was organized for Harry and his Travalyst team to get feedback from the travel industry on new ideas for sustainability, with around 100 people from the tourism and travel industry invited to take part in the working conference.

September 2019 – Prince Harry launches his Travalyst initiative at the A’dam Tower in Amsterdam

Harry speaks to an audience as he launches Travalyst in Amsterdam

In April 2020, Harry was listed on Companies House as ‘Henry Charles Albert David Duke of Sussex’ as an ‘individual person with significant control’ when Tavalyst was incorporated as a company. Documents confirmed that the Duke owned 75 percent or more of the shares and voting rights.

At the time, there were two company directors listed at Companies House: James Holt, who remains one of the Duke’s most senior aides, and Heather Wong, who worked as Harry’s assistant private secretary at Kensington Palace for three years before leaving the royal family. She left Travalyst in March 2021.

Sally Davey, who is now Travalyst’s chief executive, was appointed director of Companies House a day later.

In July that year, Harry gave an opening speech at a virtual world summit for Travalyst, calling on the travel industry to “build back better” after the pandemic.

This appearance was notable because it was his first public appearance since a series of royal revelations were published in Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s book Finding Freedom.

The following year, in February 2021, he wrote the foreword to a Travalyst report suggesting that Covid-19 presented the travel industry with an opportunity to ‘initiate a wholesale realignment’ towards a sustainable future.

And in May 2022, Harry starred in a skit for a new New Zealand initiative for Travalyst, in which he jogged through a forest before being accused of dropping a lollipop wrapper during a trip to the country four years earlier.

The Duke provided several lines in Te Reo Maori for the clip, which he launched on Maori Television’s current affairs program Te Ao with Moana.

The Sussexes posted the launch of Travalyst on Instagram in 2019

The Duke of Sussex is pictured taking part in a sketch for a sustainable travel campaign for Travalyst, in which he jogs through a forest before being accused of dropping a lollipop wrapper during a trip to New Zealand four years earlier.

The Duke spoke several phrases in Te Reo Maori for the clip, which he launched with Moana on Maori Television’s current affairs program Te Ao

This week, Meghan launched her new lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard, sending jars of strawberry jam to a small number of select recipients including influencers and friends.

Parenting campaigner Kelly McKee Zajfen, Argentinian socialite Delfina Balquier and stylist Tracy Robbins are the three who have posted a photo of it on Instagram so far.

Meghan’s jam had the American Riviera Orchard logo and ‘Montecito’ underneath – the celebrity enclave in California where she lives with Harry in a £12million mansion.

This is the latest launch amid a trend of celebrities shifting their own food products – with Julianne Moore, Will Ferrell and LeBron James among those selling honey from their garden through the Flamingo Estate brand for up to $250 (£200) per jar.

Meghan announced her new lifestyle brand last month with an Instagram teaser video of her cooking and arranging white hydrangeas and roses, posted to American Riviera Orchard’s new Instagram account.