In this episode of ‘Sustainability in the Air’, Sally Davey, CEO of Travalyst, speaks with SimpliFlying CEO Shashank Nigam about transforming the travel industry through collaborative data initiatives.
Founded in 2019 by Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, Travalyst is a not-for-profit coalition that brings together leading companies from the travel and technology sectors. Its members include industry giants such as Amadeus, Booking.com, Expedia Group, Google, Mastercard, Sabre, Skyscanner, Travelport, Trip.com Group, Tripadvisor, and Visa.
Here are the key highlights of the conversation:
Travalyst’s founding vision and mission (2:31)
How the Travel Impact Model works in practice (7:23)
Balancing accuracy with accessibility in emissions data (9:14)
Inside Travalyst’s data collection for accommodation sustainability (14:56)
The role of the Independent Advisory Group (18:17)
Moving from sustainable to regenerative tourism (34:21)
The story of Travalyst’s inception with Prince Harry (38:24)
Rapid fire! (42:41)
Keep reading for a quick overview of the episode.
Why accessible sustainability data matters for tourism
The travel industry faces a fundamental challenge: without clear, consistent sustainability data, neither travellers nor businesses can make informed decisions about their environmental and social impact. Addressing this gap is at the heart of Travalyst’s mission to standardise sustainability metrics across the sector, explains Davey.
“Today, there’s no single source of truth for sustainability data. The information that is out there is often fragmented, it’s low scale, it’s incomplete, and it’s often behind paywalls, so it’s not accessible.”
The Travel Impact Model (TIM) exemplifies Travalyst’s commitment to solving this issue. TIM is Google’s implementation of the Travalyst Shared Framework – a set of principles and methodologies designed to estimate carbon emissions from air travel. According to Davey, TIM has already supported over 65 billion flight searches globally, allowing travellers to compare the carbon footprint of different routes and make more sustainable choices. The model’s influence is particularly evident in the corporate sector, where businesses are increasingly integrating emissions data into travel planning and policies.
By making sustainability data freely available and easily accessible, Travalyst is enabling a systemic change in how the travel industry approaches sustainability.
5 takeaways from the conversation
1. Building unprecedented industry collaboration
Travalyst’s success lies in its ability to unite fierce competitors within the travel industry. By bringing together companies like Google, Booking.com, Expedia, and major global distribution systems (Amadeus, Sabre, and Travelport), the organisation has fostered a collaborative approach to sustainability.
When the initiative started, many thought this level of cooperation was impossible, recalls Davey: “Everybody said you’re crazy. You will never get these competitors to work together. Online travel is one of the most fiercely competitive sectors in the world.”
However, the pressing need to address tourism’s environmental impact has broken down competitive barriers, she adds. “Right from day one, you had C-suite level folks saying no, this matters more than anything. We have to do this. This is bigger than any one of us.”
The collaboration extends beyond just sharing data. Travalyst’s Independent Advisory Group – composed of sustainability experts, academics, and practitioners – provides essential oversight and validation. A key outcome of this teamwork is the Travel Impact Model (TIM), which is open-source and freely accessible. “We take a completely open access approach that’s free to all to provide that single source of truth as a public good,” Davey explains.
2. Standardising accommodation sustainability metrics
Beyond aviation, Travalyst has developed a comprehensive framework for measuring accommodation sustainability, encompassing 60 attributes across six environmental and social categories. The Data Hub tracks metrics such as energy use, water conservation, waste management, biodiversity impact, and local community engagement.
“We’re looking at whether properties have reduced their energy consumption, if they offer sustainable transport options and how they support local communities through employment and sourcing practices,” explains Davey.
Furthermore, to drive consistency in sustainability certifications and standards, Travalyst has launched a “master list of 49 certifications, standards and schemes that are compliant with criteria set by our Independent Advisory Group,” says Davey. This standardisation is crucial in an industry where multiple certification schemes have often led to confusion and scepticism.
The organisation works closely with established bodies like the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) to ensure alignment with industry standards while pushing for greater transparency and accountability.
“We’re driving alignment across the consumer landscape so that everybody can be really clear on what good looks like,” Davey emphasises.
3. Empowering local communities
Travalyst’s approach places local communities at the centre of sustainable tourism. As Davey points out, “Without destinations and communities, we have no travel. And those communities, they’re not just communities of people, but also wildlife or all of those cultural and heritage assets that we often travel to see or the small businesses run by local people that deliver amazing experiences.”
To ensure tourism benefits local communities rather than exploiting them, Travalyst has developed specific metrics to measure tourism’s impact on local communities. These metrics examine factors such as local employment rates, preservation of cultural heritage, and the distribution of tourism benefits within communities.
“We’re making sure that the sector serves local communities, not always the other way around,” Davey explains.
Through their data collection efforts, Travalyst helps identify and promote businesses that demonstrate best practices in community engagement. This includes tracking wage policies, local sourcing practices, and cultural preservation efforts. The goal is to create a feedback loop where sustainable practices become a competitive advantage, encouraging more businesses to adopt community-friendly approaches.
4. Moving towards regenerative tourism
Travalyst also seeks to promote regenerative travel – a concept that focuses on renewal, restoration and healing of destinations. Rather than simply minimising negative impacts, Travalyst focuses on creating measurable positive change in destinations. “We know from data that travel has this unique potential to drive conservation and social outcomes in ways that other industries just can’t.”
An example of this vision in action is Weeva, a SaaS platform recently acquired by Travalyst. Weeva supports tourism businesses in over 80 countries to adopt measurable, holistic sustainability practices. Davey highlights a Kenyan lodge that regenerates natural assets while preserving cultural traditions, such as employing an in-house blacksmith – a practice that might otherwise be lost.
“Without tourism, that craft would not [have survived]; there would be no opportunity for that work. And so [the lodge] leveraged this business model to create a fabulous experience for their customers, but again, regenerate not just the local environment, but local skills.”
Crucially, these regenerative practices are underpinned by robust data collection and analysis. “Through their work with Weaver, [the lodge] could track their holistic metrics across all their operational parameters and make sure that while they were taking this very rigorous commercial approach, they were also measuring and enhancing their positive impact,” Davey explains.
“Regenerative travel is what we are ultimately working for in the long term,” Davey notes. “It’s about focusing on leaving a place better than it was found, not just lessening our impact.”
5. Balancing environmental and economic sustainability
Travalyst adopts a nuanced approach to balancing environmental protection with economic development, especially in destinations heavily dependent on tourism. As Davey notes, “There are some destinations that are incredibly environmentally vulnerable, but are island states that rely on aviation and in many cases rely on tourism for really vital economic opportunity.”
Tourism can serve as a powerful force for social equity. “Tourism is an employer of more women than men and creates opportunities for often underrepresented groups,” she adds. The challenge lies in maintaining these benefits while ensuring sustainability.
Travalyst’s collaborative framework equips the travel industry to navigate this delicate balance. By aligning stakeholders and prioritising data-driven solutions, Travalyst aims to turn tourism into a force for good. “We have to do this together, both to meet the scale of the challenge and to do it in the right way,” Davey concludes.
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