Exclusive: How ‘amazing’ Prince Harry is making a difference as he steps back out in NYC…read more

Prince Harry has been in New York City this week as part of a series of engagements for his patronages and philanthropic initiatives, including Travalyst a program that aims to explore and improve conservation efforts at tourist destinations around the world.

He was joined on stage by Aditi Mohapatra, Vice President of Global Social Impact and Sustainability at the Expedia Group, and Aditi told HELLO! how impressed she was by the Duke’s commitment to use his platform for good.

“We were able to have a bit of a meet and greet with him, and his support and leadership for this organization is just so amazing,” she told HELLO! after the panel, adding that Harry’s willingness to publicly support the campaign “really provides the right kind of visibility” and offers “the right kind of leadership that we need” to “encourage action from the top”.

The panel also featured Sally Davey, Travalyst Chief Executive and Gianni Marostica, Managing Director of Global Business Development at Google.

And discussed how companies can come together to revolutionize travel and decrease the greenhouse gas emissions which currently contribute 11% globally.

“I think one of the things that’s difficult for people is to understand how they can make an impact when it comes to climate change,” Aditi shared.

This is a really big topic that many people care about, but they don’t know what their role looks like in addressing it, and honestly the mission of Travalyst is to help make that easier for everyday individual travelers to make better sustainable decisions and choices and to encourage the industry to take action.”

And despite skepticism from many, Aditi is positive about the changes the travel industry can make: “Probably one of the biggest takeaways is that the travel industry is working together to really advance sustainability, provide travelers with better options around what sustainable travel looks like and encourage the industry to take the issues of climate change more seriously.”