To encourage green choices among tourists, Wonderful Copenhagen, the official tourism promotion organisation of the capital region of Denmark, has introduced a pilot project, CopenPay that can serve as a benchmark for other cities.

According to a press statement by the tourism board, CopenPay is meant to transform green actions into currency for cultural experiences. 

The board says that Copenhagen’s ambition is to inspire visitors to make conscious green choices and help bridge the large gap between the desire to act sustainably and their actual behaviour. 

CopenPay rewards actions such as cycling, participating in cleanup efforts, or volunteering at urban farms with access to a variety of enriching experiences and everyday wonders of Copenhagen. 

Free vegetarian lunch made from local crops

This includes complimentary guided museum tours, free kayak rentals, and even a free vegetarian lunch made from local crops.

For instance, visitors arriving at the National Gallery of Denmark with plastic waste are invited to a workshop to turn it into a piece of art. Similarly, taking public transport or a bike to Copenhagen’s iconic heating plant grants a unique experience of skiing down its slope on the building’s roof, the statement adds.

Mikkel Aarø-Hansen

“It is a core task for us to make travelling sustainable. And we will only succeed if we bridge the large gap between the visitors’ desire to act sustainably and their actual behaviour. It might sound simple, but it is not,” says Mikkel Aarø-Hansen, CEO, Wonderful Copenhagen.

“We want visitors to make conscious, green choices and hopefully end up getting even better experiences while they visit. Through CopenPay we therefore aim to incentivise tourists’ sustainable behaviour while enriching their cultural experience of our destination,” he adds.

“It is an experimental and a small step towards creating a new mindset amongst travellers and one among many initiatives we are doing to make travelling more sustainable,” Aarø-Hansen adds.

The board says that the simplicity of the system allows easy participation, where tourists can show a train ticket, arrive on a bicycle, or present other simple proof of green actions to redeem their rewards. 

Launching with over 20 attractions this summer, CopenPay not only aims to enhance the guests’ local experience but also to inspire other destinations, the statement adds.

“We must turn tourism from being an environmental burden into a force for positive change, and one important step in this transformation is to change how we move around on the destination, what we consume, and how we interact with the locals. With CopenPay we want travellers as well as local attractions to focus on the change and the choices, we need to make” Aarø-Hansen says.

Sophie Hæstorp Andersen

“Since travelling is international, our success is dependent on the choices of people and destinations elsewhere. We therefore also strive to inspire sustainable behaviours and cultural appreciation worldwide,” he adds.

“I am thrilled to see an initiative like CopenPay that combines our rich cultural life with a strong commitment to sustainability. By converting green actions into currency for cultural experiences, tourists are given a unique opportunity to explore Copenhagen in a way that benefits both the environment and the local community. This aligns perfectly with our values and ambitions to promote sustainable solutions in Copenhagen,” says Sophie Hæstorp Andersen, Mayor of Copenhagen.