Negative impacts of tourism had made us reconsider the way we travel long before the COVID-19 crisis emerged, and so the sustainable development approach constitutes a growing trend in the industry. Additionally, many signalize that the global pandemic is also the best moment to work on valuable changes in order to meet SDG goals in tourism. In fact, before and during the crisis we can observe cross-sector programs and initiatives that, while helping to promote a given destination, might also suggest certain models of tourist behaviors that are considered sustainable. The cases that will be discussed show that nowadays travelers are encouraged to dedicate time to activities that support local environments and that include their, tourists, direct participation. Studying case examples of fostering volunteer tourism during this particular time in history can help us explore how this phenomenon works as well as if, and to what extent the proposed solutions will prove to be durable. Particular consideration will be dedicated to various motivations of project initiators that might include a desire to shape sustainable behavior of tourists, but also a search for an economic gain. The same attention is given to tourists, their motivations, possible commitment, and perception of a given location following their introduction to the project. However, as today traveling freely is not so easy as it used to be, there’s also another question: do people need to have additional justification for their travel decisions? The research is conducted using online questionnaires and interviews with tourists and tourism industry representatives. Useful information will be gathered through analysis of official data on tourist flows in a given region as well as by the means of participant observation.