Sustainable travel: A journey for a greener future

June 25, 2025

Sustainable travel is more than a trend - it’s a commitment to preserving the planet and uplifting communities as you explore. By choosing eco-conscious adventures, you become part of a global movement toward responsible tourism.

Before you go

Imagine you’re hiking through lush rainforests, sharing stories with local artisans, or volunteering on a community farm. All this falls under sustainable and eco-friendly travel; a meaningful way to explore the world while giving back to the people and places you visit.

Sustainable and eco-friendly travel, also known as sustainable tourism, is a conscious approach to travel that aims to minimize negative impacts on the environment and local communities while maximizing the benefits. This involves practices such as reducing carbon emissions, conserving natural resources, supporting local economies, and respecting local cultures and environments. But while these trips are deeply rewarding, they often involve unexpected challenges such as remote destinations, adventurous activities, or shifting travel plans.

That’s why having a travel insurance plan, like our award-winning SafeTrip from UnitedHealthcare Global, is essential to help ensure that your sustainable journey remains adventurous, safe and financially secure.

The importance of travel insurance for sustainable travel

When you're venturing into remote jungles, staying in eco-lodges off the beaten path, or taking on physically demanding volunteer work, things don’t always go to plan. Having a travel insurance plan, you can rely on in these instances isn’t just a nice-to-have but rather essential to your trip. With SafeTrip, you are covered against the most common travel and medical emergencies:

• Trip interruption or delay coverage for when your connecting boat to that off-grid island gets canceled
• Medical and emergency assistance crucial when the nearest clinic is hours away
• Special coverage options for adventure sports or volunteer activities

So, whether you are zip-lining through the cloud forests of Costa Rica or volunteering at a wildlife sanctuary in Thailand, SafeTrip can help keep your journey protected and your focus on the experience, not the “what ifs.”

10 ways to travel sustainably

Sustainable tourism benefits local communities by promoting fair economic opportunities, enhancing social wellbeing, and preserving cultural heritage. So, when you’re ready, read on for 10 eco-conscious ways to explore the world more responsibly and how travel insurance can keep you protected along the way:

1. Eco-tourism: Travel to natural areas that conserve the environment and support local communities through educational and low-impact activities. Be sure to obtain a travel insurance plan to cover your health and travels as some of these areas can be remote locations with limited health care facilities.
2. Volunteer travel (Voluntourism): Combine travel with community service, supporting local projects and gaining a deeper cultural understanding. Some volunteer projects can be physically demanding, so having a travel medical insurance plan to cover you incase you get injured while volunteering can help to cover those unexpected medical expenses.
3. Cultural tourism: Immerse yourself in local traditions and heritage by staying in locally-owned accommodations and participating in community activities.
4. Adventure tourism: Engage in physically demanding activities in natural settings, using low-impact practices and supporting conservation efforts. These once-in-a-lifetime experiences can require careful planning and extra safety precautions. Having a plan with an Extreme Sports add-on can help to cover expenses from an unexpected emergency during your wild adventure.
5. Slow travel: Spend more time in one place, use public transportation, and engage in local activities to reduce your carbon footprint and deepen your travel experience. With slow travel may come travel delays or changes to itineraries. Travel insurance can come in handy during these unexpected changes to your travel plans.
6. Sustainable accommodations: Choose hotels and lodges that implement green practices and support local communities, reducing your environmental impact.
7. Carbon offset travel: Compensate for your travel emissions by purchasing carbon credits that fund environmental projects.
8. Cruelty-free wildlife tourism: Visit sanctuaries and reserves where animals are protected and live in their natural habitats, avoiding exploitative attractions.
9. Bike and walk tours: Explore destinations on foot or by bike, minimizing carbon emissions and discovering local gems in a more intimate way.
10. Local and regional travel: Travel to nearby destinations to reduce transportation emissions and support the regional economy and local cultures.

Why you should consider travel insurance

Sustainable travel lets you connect more deeply with the world's top sustainable destinations, all the while helping to protect it. Choosing one or more of these travel types can help to make a positive impact on the environment and the communities you visit, but often also means being ready for the unexpected. Therefore, make sure to secure a travel insurance plan as an essential part of planning sustainable and responsible travel adventures.

Having travel insurance, like SafeTrip International Travel Medical Plus is your backup plan and can help you adapt to unforeseen changes or emergency situations during your journey, allowing you to focus on contributing to the sustainability and wellbeing of the places you visit.