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Make of it what you will but Prince Harry officially addressed the private jet controversy with the best, no-nonsense response

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Prince Harry. (Photo: Greatstock/Splash)
Prince Harry. (Photo: Greatstock/Splash)

Cape Town – Prince Harry launched the global initiative Travelyst this week and finally addressed all the backlash he's been getting for flying his family to Nice in a private jet.

Spearheaded by the Duke of Sussex and co-founded by Booking.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor and Visa, Travelyst combines the words' travel' and 'catalyst' to highlight the importance of sustainable travel as catalysts to accelerate positive change.

"#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 [sic] friendly choices whilst travelling," a post on the Sussex Royal Instagram page explains.

SEE THE FULL POST HERE:

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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

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on

View this post on Instagram

Today, during the launch event of the new global initiative ‘Travalyst’, The Duke of Sussex shared his remarks on the exciting new initiative from Amsterdam. #Travalyst, an initiative led by The Duke and founded by Booking.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, TripAdvisor and Visa, sees a pressing need for increased collaboration to make sustainability a priority across our entire travel experience - and we believe that collective, collaborative action will be critical to achieve this. The travel and tourism sector is constantly growing and contributes a significant impact to the world we live in today. The Duke sees it as one of the worlds biggest problems but believes this partnership can make it one its greatest solutions: • - 1.8 Billion trips will be made annually by 2030, and since 2000, the number of trips taken around the world has more than doubled - 71% of global travellers think travel companies should offer more sustainable options - $8.8 Trillion was generated to the global economy from travel and tourism last year - 57% of all international trips by 2030 will include emerging market destinations We plan to work closely with local communities and providers, leveraging technology to help scale sustainable supply to meet the growing mass-market demand from consumers - ultimately, making sustainable travel options of all kinds easier for consumers to identify, book and enjoy. Click our link in bio to read The Duke of Sussex full speech from today Photo ©? SussexRoyal

A post shared by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (@sussexroyal) on


ALSO READ: Commercial vs private planes – Let's clear the air on Prince Harry and Meghan's jet plane controversy

According to E! News, at the launch of Travelyst, while Prince Harry spoke about how travel and tourism if appropriately conducted, can be a benefit in the long run, he also addressed the backlash he and Meghan recently faced.

As you know, royal commentators called Harry and Meghan hypocrites for boarding a private jet, considering their reputation as an environmentally conscious couple. And even though the appropriate contribution was made to Carbon Footprint, making the flight carbon neutral, the couple couldn't entirely escape the controversy of the ordeal.

Defending himself and his decision to board the private jet, Prince Harry, in our opinion, gave the best, no-nonsense response.

Make of it what you will:

"I came here by commercial. I spend 99% of my life travelling the world by commercial. Occasionally, there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure my family are safe.

"And it's genuinely as simple as that."

Is that the cheeky redhead from the early 2000s we're seeing come out?

In our opinion, it's just a doting dad, who also happens to be a royal, mimd you, and has to do what he needs to to protect his family. It's really, genuinely, as simple as that.

Compiled by Bashiera Parker (Sources: Instagram, E! News, Channel24)

READ NEXT: Prince Harry: From partying bachelor to doting dad

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