CopenPay: Rewarding tourists in Copenhagen for sustainable behaviour

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In summer 2024, Copenhagen implemented a fascinating pilot project called CopenPay. The idea was to reward tourists for climate-friendly actions when visiting attractions in the Danish capital. “All of our choices have an environmental impact, so why not make conscious decisions that benefit us all and be rewarded for them”, was the slogan.
From July 15 to August 11, 2024, visitors to Copenhagen’s attractions were able to earn rewards for climate-friendly actions. For example, taking a bike instead of driving could result in a free lunch or a cup of coffee. Other rewards included a kayak tour and free entrance to museums. Working in an urban garden, going for tap water rather than buying bottled water, cleaning up the harbour, and pledging sustainable behaviour also led to rewards. 24 attractions participated in the CopenPay scheme, including the national Museum, the National Gallery of Denmark, the Museum of Copenhagen, the running club Sparta, Green Kayak, Copenhill, an urban garden and Donkey Republic bike rental. The idea was to transform green actions into a currency for cultural experiences.
Encouraging more sustainable choices
To participate in CopenPay, tourists as well as residents needed to show proof of green actions, for example train tickets or their bicycles. An online map listed all the participating attractions and the actions they rewarded. Some of them had limited availability, making advance booking necessary.
“With CopenPay, we’re empowering people to experience more of what Copenhagen offers while placing less burden on our planet. It’s about creating meaningful and memorable experiences that are enjoyable and environmentally responsible”, explained Mikkel Aarø Hansen, CEO of Wonderful Copenhagen. He emphasised that the campaign was not intended to increase tourism.
Rather, CopenPay wanted to contribute to reducing the city’s carbon footprint by encouraging the use of bicycles and public transport. In addition, participation in environmental activities and waste reduction led to rewards. While the campaign acknowledged that there are many other environmental challenges, such as transport to and from Copenhagen, it was marketed only in the city to show a way of encouraging both visitors and locals to make more sustainable choices.
Currently, the city is evaluating the results of CopenPay. The pilot project might be reintroduced as a year-round green payment option within its economy, and maybe even beyond.

Carrot rather than stick
CopenPay was developed based on the findings of a sustainability report by the market research group Kantar. It found a big gap between people’s desire to act sustainably (82 percent of consumers wanted to adopt more sustainable practices) and their actual behaviours (only 22 percent had made concrete changes in their habits). Many different attractions in Copenhagen participated in the scheme, from art galleries and museums to sports-rental shops. Participants received perks like free ice cream, free bike rides, a glass of wine, and discounts for other cultural attractions.
Copenhagen’s “carrot rather than stick” approach included offers such as a free coffee when participating in a morning dip and communal singing sessions – popular Danish pastimes. Everyone who arrived by foot received the coffee. This allowed visitors to embrace local culture in a sustainable way. Another example is a free one-hour long electric boat trip in return for picking up litter with fishing nets during the ride.

Long-distance transport as a challenge
Copenhagen only has around 600,000 inhabitants, but since the pandemic, the city has received record numbers of tourists. In 2023, as many as 12 million international overnight stays were recorded, with July and August making up the peak season. No wonder then that CopenPay was trialled during the busiest month of the year: In the airport, screens greeted visitors during that time, promoting CopenPay. Banners on the sides of buses also nudged tourists as well as residents to play their part by making more sustainable choices when enjoying the city’s cultural offer.
While the preliminary results of the CopenPay scheme were very positive, it can still be tricky to navigate sustainable travelling. Greenwashing is a concern. And litter-picking or volunteering might not appeal to every holidaymaker, especially on a short city trip. The environmental impact of the scheme is not clear, given that the largest impact comes from how tourists arrive. Air travel, cruise ships and cars are polluting transport that have much more impact than travel choices for short distances in the city.
In the future, it might be interesting to include attractions that are further away from the usual tourist trail to a “cultural currency” programme like CopenPay.

Making tourism a force for positive change
CopenPay is a welcoming approach to tourism, asking visitors to be more conscious of their choices rather than to stop coming. In other European cities, mass tourism has led to tensions in recent years. For example, Venice has introduced daily entry fees and banned both large groups and loudspeakers. In Barcelona, Rome and Majorca, residents have protested in the streets against tourism, with instances of insults and aggressions towards visitors.
Whether CopenPay creates the desired domino effect reminds to be seen. However, it might change the mindset of tourists and residents on a small scale. The city wants to test out different other approaches to make travelling more sustainable to eventually turn tourism from an environmental burden into a force for positive change.
Read more: In 2022, our print issue focused on what tourism looks like after lockdown.