Tourists participating in certain green initiatives may even dine for free in Copenhagen this year.
While several European cities are exploring innovative ways to manage the influx of visitors, the Danish capital, Copenhagen, has initiated a new initiative through which the city will reward tourists who take part in climate-friendly tasks.
Through 11 August 2024, the “CopenPay” initiative rewards eco-friendly tourists with free meals, drinks, and activity vouchers.
“We must turn tourism from being an environmental burden into a force for positive change,” said Mikkel Aarø-Hansen, the chief executive of Wonderful Copenhagen, the tourism organization for the Capital Region of Denmark. An important step in this transformation, he said, “is to change how we move around on the destination, what we consume, and how we interact with the locals.”
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Related: Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen
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“All our choices have an environmental impact, so why not make conscious decisions that benefit us all and be rewarded for them?” he added.
Rikke Holm Petersen, communications chief for Copenhagen’s Tourist Board, explained: “When you travel abroad – if you fly to other places or you travel by car – you pollute. One of the things we can change is getting people to act more sustainably at the destination.”
On average, 81 percent of consumers say they want to act more sustainably, but only 22 percent have changed their behavior, according to a 2023 sustainable report by Kanter, a London-based market research group. Copenhagen’s new initiative, CopenPay, aims to bridge the gap between the desire to act sustainably and actual behavior by making climate-friendly action a currency for cultural experiences.
The Tourism Office of Copenhagen claims that “based on the evaluation, we hope to reintroduce CopenPay as a year-round, green payment experience within the economy and broaden the concept to other parts of Denmark and the rest of the world.”
The trust-based pilot program involves 24 local organizations offering rewards such as complimentary meals, drinks, and activity vouchers. No government funding is involved.
For instance, those who arrive by bike or train at CopenHill, an artificial ski slope built on top of a new waste-management center, will be able to go down the rooftop hill for free. Other sites will allow visitors to volunteer in cleanup efforts. The National Gallery of Denmark will hold workshops to turn plastic waste into pieces of art, while the Copenhagen Surf School will offer a free lunch to surfers who take part in 30 minutes of beach cleaning after their surf course.
Explaining the new application, the office said the purpose of CopenPay was “to encourage sustainable behavior and enrich the cultural experience of visitors and residents in Copenhagen by transforming green actions into currency for cultural experiences.”
Petersen notes that while the scheme is a “little step towards the green transition,” its impact could be significant: “Imagine if we could have people taking a greener mindset back with them – if that was the souvenir they got – that would be amazing.”
Dine for Free in Copenhagen, written by Tor Kjolberg