China receives unexpected visit by Prince Harry amidst significant state visit of King Charles III in Canada
In a surprising turn of events, Prince Harry embarked on a solo journey to Shanghai, China, making a foray into the Asia-Pacific region on the same day as King Charles' state visit to Canada. The Duke of Sussex attended the Envision 2025 Global Partner Conference, where he emphasized the critical need for sustainable travel practices and collaboration within the industry.
As the co-founder of Travalyst, an initiative championing eco-friendly travel, Harry urged the travel industry to intensify its efforts to accomplish climate change targets by 2030. To restrict global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, greenhouse gas emissions must decline by 43% by the close of the decade, a challenge the Asia-Pacific region is well-positioned to address, according to the Duke.
Harry's keynote address underscored climate change as a pressing business emergency, costing the global economy $143 billion annually. He prodded the travel sector to renew its pledge to be a force for good, acknowledging that challenges lie ahead but stressing that significant change seldom comes easily.
"We must never give up," he declared during his speech.
Harry's visit to China, kept under wraps until his appearance in Shanghai, represented his first foray into the country. His brother, Prince William, had made a similar diplomatic trip to China in 2015, marking the first official royal visit in three decades. In addition to addressing the conference, Harry hosted Travalyst's inaugural two-day Executive Summit, bringing together industry leaders and policymakers from across the region to craft practical solutions for sustainable tourism.
Meanwhile, King Charles landed in Canada alongside Queen Camilla for the State Opening of Parliament in Ottawa. This marked the first time a monarch has done so since Queen Elizabeth in 1977. The royal couple's visit has been hailed as "momentous," symbolizing solidarity with Canada amid its tussle with former U.S. President Donald Trump over sovereignty.
Charles and Camilla were greeted with shouts of "welcome home" as they stepped off their RAF flight from the U.K. Their brief two-day visit to Canada comes after Charles reportedly expressed concerns about the growing discord between the U.S. and Canada in March.
[Subscript: The Travalyst initiative was launched in 2019 as a collaboration between major tourism groups, including Booking.com, Ctrip, Trip.com Group, and Visa, with the aim of fostering green practices across the travel sector and reducing environmental impact. Its mission aligns with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals and prioritizes community empowerment, wildlife protection, and environmental preservation.]
The Duke of Sussex, as the co-founder of Travalyst, an environmental-science initiative, urged the travel industry to increase their finance and efforts in sustainable travel practices in order to meet climate-change targets by 2030. Recognizing the significant change needed in the business sector, he emphasized that this challenge, while difficult, must never be given up.
