DestinationPay will allow cities worldwide to reward tourists for positive actions such as cycling to museums or clearing litter, emulating the success of Copenhagen's pioneering CopenPay initiative. Olivia Palamountain reports

Copenhagen is inviting destinations worldwide to adopt its innovative CopenPay tourism model where visitors earn cultural experiences not with cash, but by cycling to attractions, clearing canal litter or taking other actions that benefit local communities.

DestinationPay, a global framework that allows destinations to replicate the scheme, was unveiled at the European Tourism Forum in Copenhagen on December 3, where Wonderful Copenhagen, the city's official tourism board, announced that Berlin and Normandy have already committed to adopting their own versions.

CopenPay, first launched as a pilot programme in summer 2024 and expanded in summer 2025, allows tourists to "pay" for cultural experiences through positive actions rather than money. Visitors who cycle to museums, clear rubbish from canals or undertake other beneficial activities receive rewards such as free museum entry or cultural experiences. Since launch, more than 30,000 people have participated, and bike rentals increased 59% during the initiative.

Søren Tegen Petersen, chief executive of Wonderful Copenhagen, says: "We've seen how many of our visitors seek different and more meaningful experiences. Tourists don't just want to see a city anymore – they want to be part of it. CopenPay gave them that opportunity. DestinationPay is how we scale this mindset to the world."

Following CopenPay's launch, more than 100 destinations contacted Wonderful Copenhagen to learn about the initiative. DestinationPay responds to this demand by providing a ready-to-use framework through an open platform with shared learnings.

Petersen adds: "We believe CopenPay is too important to keep to ourselves. Many destinations are already considering implementing it, and Berlin was the first to create their own DestinationPay – BerlinPay. We're not just allowing others to use the model – we're encouraging it, and we wish to share all our learnings and even the challenges we've faced along the way."

Berlin is preparing to launch BerlinPay this summer. Sabine Wendt, chief executive of visitBerlin, says: "CopenPay shows that positive change works best when people can actively experience it. It is a strong concept for improving tourism, and we would therefore be pleased if other cities also considered this idea. In Berlin, we are currently exploring the development of a comparable concept tailored to our city, in close collaboration with various partners from the visitor economy."

The Normandy region in France already operates a Low-Carbon Rate initiative, offering 10% discounts to visitors who arrive by train or bus and travel locally using public transport or bicycles. The scheme was originally developed by the Canadian Juno Beach Museum in Normandy.

Michael Dodds, director at Normandy Tourist Board, says: "We are inspired by CopenPay in terms of further development of our scheme. And we see great possibilities in upscaling this way of working on changing the behaviour of tourists internationally."

In February, DestinationPay will host an online webinar where Wonderful Copenhagen will share insights and learnings from the past two years free of charge. Participants will receive access to knowledge, data, tools and a playbook on how to adopt and create their own CopenPay model.

Wonderful Copenhagen positions DestinationPay as a shift from what it terms the consumption economy of travel to an experience economy, where the value of a trip is measured by contribution rather than spending alone.

Research conducted during the CopenPay initiative found that seven out of 10 participants reported changing their habits at home after taking part, and 98% said they would recommend the scheme to others. More than 100 local partners have been involved, including hotels, museums, restaurants and attractions.

With global tourism projected to reach 1.8 billion arrivals by 2030, Copenhagen argues the need for new approaches to tourism management is becoming urgent.