Copenhagen’s CopenPay initiative rewards travellers who cycle, volunteer and clean up rubbish with free cultural experiences. Olivia Palamountain reports
As cities grapple with the challenges of balancing tourism with environmental concerns, Wonderful Copenhagen has unveiled CopenPay, an initiative aimed at encouraging visitors to make more environmentally friendly choices while in the Danish capital.
The new programme will allow tourists to earn rewards at Copenhagen attractions by engaging in climate-friendly actions.
The scheme comes in response to recent data highlighting a significant gap between tourists’ intentions and actions regarding sustainability.
According to the Kantar Sustainability Index 2023, while 82 per cent of people express a desire to act sustainably, only 22 per cent have actually changed their behaviour.
CopenPay aims to bridge this gap by transforming green actions into currency for cultural experiences.
Visitors can earn rewards through activities such as cycling, participating in clean-up efforts or volunteering at urban farms.
These eco-friendly actions can be exchanged for a variety of enriching experiences, including complimentary guided museum tours, free kayak rentals and vegetarian lunches made from locally-grown produce.
Mikkel Aarø-Hansen, CEO at Wonderful Copenhagen, says: “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.”
The programme also offers unique opportunities for visitors to engage with Copenhagen’s attractions in novel ways.
For instance, tourists arriving at the National Gallery of Denmark with plastic waste can participate in a workshop to transform it into art.
Similarly, those who use public transport or cycle to Copenhagen’s famous heating plant are rewarded with the chance to ski down its rooftop slope.
Participation in CopenPay is designed to be straightforward, with tourists able to show simple proof of their green actions, such as a train ticket or arrival by bicycle, to redeem rewards.
The initiative is set to launch on July 15, 2024, with more than 20 participating attractions. Regular updates on available rewards will be posted on copenpay.com.
While CopenPay is an experimental step, it forms part of a broader strategy to promote sustainable tourism in Copenhagen and inspire other destinations to adopt similar sustainability-focused programmes.