Key takeaways:
- Travalyst shares first sustainability certifications included on its list aimed at travel industry alignment.
- Travalyst’s initiative aims to support certifications through an evolving landscape of sustainability legislation whilst providing consistency across travel booking sites.
- The list of 49 certifications compliant with Travalyst criteria is diverse, including Audubon International, Green Key Global, Fair Trade Tourism and Sustonica.
London, 29 August 2024: The Travalyst coalition today shares the first milestone in its initiative aimed at strengthening credibility and creating consistency in the sustainability certifications shown on travel booking platforms. Travalyst shares the first 49 1 sustainability
certifications for accommodation that are compliant with its criteria and included on its list for industry alignment.
Founded in 2019 by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Travalyst is a not-for-profit coalition of some of the biggest brands in travel and technology including Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, Mastercard, Sabre, Skyscanner, Travelport, Trip.com Group and
Visa. The coalition works pre-competitively to bring sustainability information to the mainstream to help people make more informed travel choices.
Research 2 carried out by Travalyst’s coalition partner, Booking.com, revealed that 45% of travellers view accommodation that is labelled more sustainable, as more appealing. But travellers want consistency; the research also found that 67% of travellers agree that all
travel booking sites should use the same certifications and labels.
By asking certification bodies to meet a set of criteria, Travalyst aims to enable industry alignment behind accommodation sustainability certifications. These criteria are designed to establish an initial threshold that supports the certification industry to meet evolving
regulatory requirements. They represent the first step in a broader, ongoing effort to improve the sustainability governance of certifications for the accommodation sector.
Following an independent review of their processes 3 , the certifications listed are compliant with three initial criteria developed by the Travalyst coalition and validated by its Independent Advisory Group:
- Third-party audit 4 that includes on-site and/or remote online assessment of sustainable practices reported by the property.
- Publicly available standards upon which the certification is based.
- Focuses on evaluating the impact of social and/or economic, and/or environmental factors, among others, as encompassed within, but not restricted, to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals 5 .
Sally Davey, CEO of Travalyst says “There are a huge number of certification bodies globally that focus on sustainability within the accommodation sector. We hear time and time again that this can be overwhelming and confusing, not only for people wanting to book a
more sustainable stay, but also for accommodation providers and booking platforms. We’re working to make things simpler and easier to navigate.”
Travalyst welcomes continuous applications from certifications as part of an iterative review process.
Davey continues, “This list is the first milestone in a long-term commitment to enhancing the integrity of sustainability information for consumers and the industry at large, and we will continue to work with stakeholders to closely monitor the fast-evolving legislative landscape, and adapt our approach to certifications accordingly.”
Travalyst’s certifications initiative is free and open to all sustainability certifications for accommodation providers globally. The initial list of certifications compliant with the Travalyst criteria is publicly available for Travalyst’s partners, and the wider industry, to use.
More information about Travalyst’s certifications initiative can be found here https://travalyst.org/work/certifications-initiative/
