COPENHAGEN – To encourage tourists to participate in sustainable practices across the city, the authorities in Copenhagen have introduced an innovative initiative, CopenPay.
The scheme rewards visitors who engage in activities such as litter picking, using public transport, or cycling with a variety of free rewards, including meals, beverages, and cultural experiences.
Launched by the city’s tourism board, CopenPay seeks to balance the environmental impact associated with tourism and over-tourism while keeping travel more sustainable and environment-friendly.
A spokesperson from Copenhagen’s tourism board said the initiative is designed not only to encourage responsible tourism but also to alleviate the environmental burden exacerbated by visitors, clarifying that the program aims to promote sustainable behaviors among existing tourists rather than attract new visitors to the city.
It is to be highlighted that the scheme can be successful in the future considering that at present two dozen companies are participating in the scheme and none of them are paid by the government for rewarding the tourists.
Getting rewards is very simple and tourists need to show their public transport ticket or a picture of themselves while picking up litter or volunteering at urban farms.
‘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,’ said city’s major, Sophie Haestorp Andersen.
The tourism board mentions on its website that CopenPay is ‘built on trust, just as Danish society is the most trusting in the world,’.
