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Prince Harry Defends Private Jet Use After Debut Of New Travel Company

(Photo: FRANK VAN BEEK/AFP/Getty Images)

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Prince Harry got candid about his private jet travel after the launch of his new initiative Travelyst.

The prince announced the initiative Tuesday, according to a report published by Entertainment Tonight.

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We are excited to announce the launch of ‘Travalyst’, a global initiative striving to change the impact of travel, for good. Partnering alongside key travel industry giants @Bookingcom, #Ctrip, @Skyscanner, @TripAdvisor and @Visa_US, our aim is to spark a movement to transform the future of travel, putting communities at the heart of the solution. We believe in the power and importance of travel. We also have a shared responsibility to our planet and to each other. • “I want to start with a little bit of background as to specifically why I’m here today, because as you may know, I am not a tourism or business expert, but through my travels I have observed the unique relationship between community and environment, and have noticed something alarming. There wasn’t the symbiosis or connection there needed to be and I wanted to understand why. I am one of those people fortunate enough to have a platform and I want to use it to tackle hard problems, in the hope of finding solutions…and that’s how Travalyst was born” – The Duke of Sussex The name #Travalyst comes from The Duke and partners viewing our role in sustainable travel as catalysts to accelerate positive changes in travel. Travel + catalyst = Travalyst #Travalyst aims to make travel more sustainable, to help protect destinations and benefit communities long into the future, and to enable consumers to make more environmental friendly choices whilst traveling. The Duke of Sussex, having invited the founding partners to start the conversation, believes that the organisations – with operations in nearly every country, hundreds of millions of customers that use their products every day, and business relationships around the world – have sufficient influence and the critical mass necessary to catalyse real system change in the travel industry, for the benefit of destinations, communities and ecosystems. To discover more about the new initiative, visit www.Travalyst.org

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The global partnership is “aimed at improving conservation, environmental protection and expanding local community economic development by encouraging sustainable tourism practices across the travel industry,” according to a press release.

Prince Harry partnered with companies such as Ctrip, Booking.com, Skyscanner, Tripadvisor and Visa. (RELATED: Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Slammed For Being ‘Hypocritical’ After Reportedly Jetting Off To Ibiza)

The launch of the initiative follows the criticism Harry and his wife Meghan Markle received after using a private jet multiple times within a week. Harry addressed the backlash during the announcement of Travelyst.

“I spend 99 percent of my life traveling the world by commercial and occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure that my family [is] safe,” Harry said. “It’s generally as simple as that. But as I said in my speech, for me, what it is is about balance. And if I had to do that — it’s not a decision that I would want to take — but if I had to do that, I would ensure, as I have done previously and I will continue to make sure that I do, is to balance out that impact that I have. And I’ve always offset my CO2.”