Denmark's capital Copenhagen has launched a new initiative called CopenPay in a bid to promote sustainable tourism, reports Euronews. Tourists who choose to travel by public transport or bicycle instead of using cars or taxis will be rewarded with benefits such as free coffee, museum admission and 20 minutes of skiing on the slopes of the thermal plant.
“What we know is that there is a big difference between the intentions of tourists before and after they arrive. We know that four out of five visitors to Copenhagen intend to act sustainably, but only one out of five actually do it,” says Mikkel Arjo-Hansen, CEO of Wonderful Copenhagen, the official tourism organization of the Danish capital.
“Until we fill this gap, we will not be able to create sustainable tourism. So the main idea of CopenPay is to show people that climate action is not so difficult. We can all do it. We all have a choice to act sustainably and in a climate-friendly way. And there's a lot we can do in Copenhagen to change the picture," adds Arø-Hansen.
"Currency for Cultural Experiences"
According to a report by Kantar, an international market research group, 82 percent of respondents said they want to act sustainably, but only 22 percent have actually changed their behavior.
Wonderful Copenhagen emphasizes that CopenPay is designed to promote sustainable behavior by turning environmental actions into "currency for cultural experiences."
"The idea is not to increase tourism. It all depends on guests behaving in a more sustainable and climate-friendly way. We hope that this mindset will not only stay in Copenhagen, but tourists actually bring it back home and will even start to cycle and behave differently when they travel to another destination,” adds Arø-Hansen.
Copenhagen is one of the growing tourist destinations in Europe. More than 2023 million overnight stays were recorded in the Danish capital in 12 and the tourist board predicts that the city will welcome more visitors if the current trend continues.
Wonderful Copenhagen says a 2017 survey showed that 65 percent of international visitors to the city used public transport, while among the 35 percent who did not use public transport, walking was the most popular form of transport.
What free products can you get in Copenhagen?
A total of 24 attractions, including restaurants and kayak rental shops, are participating in the new green scheme, according to Wonderful Copenhagen. At one of the partner attractions, GoBoat, tourists will be offered a free boat ride where they will be asked to pick up litter in the waterways every Tuesday during the campaign period.
"We see this as a win-win situation where we can give something back to the city, also to the tourists who come to Copenhagen, where we can tell some experiences, but also get them to help us clean up the waterways, which is also is part of the overall idea of GoBoat being environmentally friendly," says Mads Pilegaard Sander, International Partner at GoBoat.
Banegaarden, a food and culture destination in the center of Copenhagen, is offering a free lunch to visitors who participate in the waste collection activity in and around the site.
"The motivation to join this initiative is definitely to protect the nature around Banegaarden. It is very rare to have a place in the city that is surrounded by wildlife. So we want to do everything we can to keep it that way. I look forward to welcoming many people here and engaging our guests in this initiative because I believe it is a very important initiative. Especially in Copenhagen, I think we do a lot to protect nature around and in the city," says Ida Marie Banke, partner at Banegaarden.
The CopenPay initiative is a pilot and will take place between July 15 and August 11.
"Based on the results, we hope to introduce CopenPay as a year-round model within the economy and expand the concept to other parts of Denmark and the rest of the world," says Wonderful Copenhagen.