The Travalyst coalition today shares the first milestone in its initiative aimed at strengthening credibility and creating consistency in the sustainability certifications displayed on travel booking platforms. The Biosphere certification system, developed by the Responsible Tourism Institute, has proven to cover the criteria set by this coalition, being a suitable methodology to recognize the sustainable efforts of accommodations worldwide on travel booking portals and channels.

Founded in 2019 by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, Travalyst is a non-profit coalition of some of the largest 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 general public and help people make more informed travel decisions.

Research conducted by Booking.com revealed that 45% of travelers consider accommodations labeled as more sustainable to be more attractive. However, travelers want consistency; the research also found that 67% of travelers agree that all travel booking sites should use the same certifications and labels.

By covering the criteria identified by Travalyst, the Biosphere methodology and standard ensure methodological harmonization for compliance with an initial regulatory threshold, common among the different booking portals that make up the Travalyst coalition. In this way, the Biosphere certification seal allows its certified members to recognize their sustainable efforts on any of these booking portals in a consensual manner and under a common language.

In this regard, the new criteria set by the Travalyst coalition with its latest changes and updates have made no difference to the continuous improvement system of Biosphere, which has already been a suitable sustainability certification for the organization and the portals of this coalition since its inception.

As a valid certification seal to cover Travalyst’s criteria, Biosphere complies with:

1. Incorporating a third-party auditing process that includes on-site and/or remote online evaluation of the sustainable practices reported by the property.
2. Having a public standard on which the certification is based.
3. Constituting a methodology that covers the three sustainability areas, including but not limited to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

As Sally Davey, CEO of Travalyst, states, “A large number of certification bodies worldwide that focus on sustainability can be overwhelming and confusing, not only for people who want to book a more sustainable stay but also for accommodation providers and booking platforms.”

Travalyst seeks to make things simpler and easier to navigate, with a long-term commitment in which this update aims to “improve the integrity of sustainability information for consumers and the industry as a whole.”

At Biosphere, we appreciate the efforts made by the entire sector and initiatives like this coalition’s, which demonstrate the broad and ongoing collaboration within the tourism industry to improve the governance of sustainability communications.

You can consult our official recognition here.