Travel by public transport and get free tickets with Copenhagen’s new green initiative for tourists

Tourists who travel by public transport or bike will be rewarded with perks such as free coffee and museum admissions.

Transcript

00:00Denmark's capital, Copenhagen, has launched a new initiative called CopenPay to incentivize

00:06sustainable tourism. As one of Europe's growing destinations, Copenhagen attracted over 12

00:11million overnight stays in 2023.

00:14Travelling today is not sustainable. It's about moving people from one place to another

00:18and that leaves a negative footprint. It's also about consuming while you're at the destination

00:24and that leaves another negative footprint. So we have a big task in front of us to create

00:28sustainable tourism and to speed up the green transition of tourism in general. So CopenPay

00:36is a small step in that direction.

00:40Tourists who choose to travel by public transport or bike, without using cars or taxis, will

00:45be rewarded with perks such as free coffee and museum admissions.

00:49According to its organizers, the scheme operates on a trust-based system, a value they claim

00:54is deeply ingrained in Danish culture. Instead of requiring extensive proof, tourists can

01:00simply provide photos of themselves biking or tickets for public transport to claim their

01:05rewards.

01:06A total of 24 attractions are participating in the new green scheme.

01:10As a tourist it's very interesting because you're here to enjoy yourself and your time

01:18in this foreign country and it would be nice that you can also help to give back to the

01:24community after you're enjoying it.

01:26I knew it would be fun, like especially going with a little friend and picking up rubbish.

01:31It's actually kind of a fun, it's like an adventure. It's like, oh look, I found some

01:34more and you know. So it was a fun thing to do while exploring.

01:38At a local boat rental shop, GoBoat, tourists will be offered every Tuesday to go on a boat

01:44for free while they are picking up trash in the waterways.

01:47We see it as a win-win situation where we can give something back to the city, but also

01:52to the tourists that come to Copenhagen, where we can give out some experiences, but also

01:59get them to help us clean the waterways, which is part of also the whole idea of making GoBoat

02:07eco-friendly.

02:08Barnegarden, an urban food court, offers free lunch to visitors who pick up rubbish in and

02:13around its site. The initiative is a pilot project and will run between the 15th of July

02:19and the 11th of August.