Copenhagen’s new “CopenPay” program rewards vacationers for climate-friendly actions

Whether or not in Barcelona, the place protestors are spraying water at guests, or in Athens, the place overtourism has come to a head, European cities are rethinking how they function an economically necessary trade that has resulted in fraught ties with locals. 

Copenhagen has a solution to turning tourism from a detrimental drive to a constructive one: by rewarding guests for making a constructive affect, by cleansing up the town or biking from place to position. 

The town’s CopenPay program presents “carrots” to vacationers who take climate-friendly actions via a free lunch, espresso, kayak tour or museum entrance. 

The pilot mission, which is able to kick off on July 15, has 24 points of interest that may depend in the direction of the rewards, starting from bike leases to The Nationwide Gallery of Denmark. 

The purpose is to encourage guests to make acutely aware selections that may affect the Danish capital whereas incentivizing them with entrances to the town’s key points of interest. As an example, the Copenhagen Surf Faculty will present free lunch to surfers who assist with half-hour of seaside cleansing following their surf lesson.  

“IT is an experimental and a small step in the direction of creating a brand new mindset amongst vacationers,” stated Mikkel Aarø-Hansen, CEO of Great Copenhagen, the town’s official tourism group, in a statement.

The group cited data that discovered that vacationers had been usually very keen to behave sustainably, however solely a small fraction modified their actions, spurring Copenhagen to undertake a brand new strategy “constructed on belief.” 

Great Copenhagen says the initiative will not be meant to extend tourism however merely promotes a greater strategy to go about IT. 

“With this particular mission, our focus is on fostering sustainable practices and enhancing the journey expertise for individuals who are already right here, somewhat than attracting extra vacationers. And possibly, to encourage different cities to undertake Copenpay, if the pilot mission seems to be a hit,” Rikke Holm Petersen, Great Copenhagen’s communications and advertising and marketing director, advised Fortune.

The tourism tug-of-war

Europe has at all times been a vacation spot for picturesque holidays. However just lately, IT has additionally grow to be an instance of the downsides of mass tourism.

Locals usually face the affect of overtourism, which may hurt their total quality of life and value of dwelling. 

In Madrid, for example, locals have been priced out of the housing market as a result of restricted social housing, worsened by a progress in vacation leases to cater to vacationers. In the meantime, Barcelona introduced a ban on Airbnb-style short-lets from 2029 to liberate the housing provide for locals.

Amsterdam has additionally clamped down on overtourism by tightening guidelines round smoking weed and new lodge development. 

Iceland has additionally been on the receiving finish of a customer growth, and IT plans to introduce a vacationer tax on lodges, campsites, cruise ships and extra.

These measures level to how common European locations have a fragile stability to strike between curbing customer numbers with out discouraging them completely. Tourism is a key income generator and employer for a lot of of their economies. 

If Copenhagen’s pilot mission succeeds at turning tourism right into a drive for good, IT might set an instance for different cities to undertake.

“We should flip tourism from being an environmental burden right into a drive for constructive change, and one necessary step on this transformation is to vary how we transfer round on the vacation spot, what we devour, and the way we work together with the locals,” Great Copenhagen’s Aarø-Hansen stated. 

Replace, July 11, 2024: This text has been up to date with a remark from Great Copenhagen.

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