Tourist cities have a lot to learn from Copenhagen’s sustainable CopenPay tourism campaign

In 2025, the tourism organisation Wonderful Copenhagen, launched CopenPay to promote sustainable tourism in Copenhagen. The campaign rewarded visitors with discounted food or cultural activities by engaging in sustainable practices like cycling or cleaning the harbor.

Manager of Wonderful Copenhagen, Morten Søgaard, says CopenPay is a successful example of “regenerative tourism,” where tourists “participate in maintaining the city, not just polluting it.”

The campaign enabled travelers to experience the unique lifestyle of Copenhagen. Alasdair Dixon, a tourist from Scotland enjoyed experiencing Danish life; “it's very easy to take a bike, and you can walk everywhere."

CopenPay not only benefited tourists, but also locals. According to Wonderful Copenhagen, over 65% of Copenhageners believe tourism is not an issue. Gabriela Lafratta, from Portugal, says you feel this when visiting the city; "People are nicer, and that makes the difference."

Søgaard hopes the 2026 launch of DestinationPay, a program designed to help tourism organisations adapt CopenPay to other cities, will help cities prepare for projected increases in tourism.

He says that while cities like Barcelona struggle with overcrowding and limited housing, Copenhagen is not “threatened by overtourism” due to housing legislation. In Copenhagen, property owners cannot rent their residences for more than 70 days.

Combined with initiatives like CopenPay, Copenhagen is an example of sustainable tourism benefiting everyone.

This story is meant for an audience in Spain; it could be published in Diari de Barcelona, a newspaper in the capital of Catalonia.