Copenhagen is becoming less pricey for eco-friendly tourists

In a bid to improve on its already green reputation, the tourist board of Denmark's capital Copenhagen is offering tourists treats for trash.

In a bid to improve on its already green reputation, the tourist board of Denmark's capital Copenhagen is offering tourists treats for trash.

Starting July 15, the city is trialing a scheme under which tourist attractions across the Danish capital will offer free meals, train tickets and museum tours to visitors who participate in sustainable activities such as picking up trash or taking green transport options such as bikes.

The initiative, which the tourist board calls “CopenPay,” is a reward system that transforms “green actions into currency for cultural experiences.” It's the latest sustainability effort in a city that has long been considered one of the world's greenest — Copenhagen residents of the city regularly bike to work and swim in its clean canals.

The scheme may also come as a relief to tourists who can find Denmark, with its 25% value added tax rate, an expensive place to visit. According to a 2023 poll from the Economist Intelligence Unit, Copenhagen is the city with the world's eighth highest cost of living.

“We want visitors to make conscious, green choices,” Mikkel Aarø-Hansen, chief executive at Wonderful Copenhagen said in a statement Monday, “and hopefully end up getting even better experiences.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/copenhagen-becoming-less-pricey-eco-friendly-tourists-rcna160818

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