Copenhagen rewards polite tourists: can a holiday become a game of good behavior?
From June 22, 2026, Copenhagen is relaunching CopenPay, but this time as a year-round platform with no announced end date. It is a program in which visitors can receive coffee, discounts, tickets, bicycle rental, guided tours or other local experiences if, during their stay, they choose behavior that the city considers beneficial: arriving by train, getting around by bicycle or public transport, collecting waste, taking part in canal cleanups, helping in urban gardens or choosing more sustainable activities. According to official information from VisitCopenhagen, the system works through an app in which the traveler chooses an activity, starts it at a partner location, and after completing the action shows the screen and collects the reward. The idea is simple, but for the tourism industry quite unusual: the guest does not receive a benefit because they spend more, but because they behave like a temporary resident of the city. In this way, Copenhagen is trying to move away from a model of tourism in which the visitor is primarily a consumer, while the destination is merely a backdrop for photos and brief consumption.
The program is particularly interesting because it appears at a time when many popular destinations are looking for an answer to the pressures of mass tourism, crowds, transport emissions and dissatisfaction among local residents. Instead of bans, fines and campaigns that portray tourists as a problem, the Danish capital is trying to test a more optimistic model: the visitor is guided toward desirable behavior and is given a visible, quick and locally rooted benefit for it. According to a press release by the organization Wonderful Copenhagen from June 9, 2026, CopenPay is returning as a permanent platform, with more than 100 participating attractions and partners and with more than 30,000 participants since its first launch. The same press release states that the pilot program, launched in 2024, collected about 1,200 kilograms of waste from the canals, while a 59 percent increase in bicycle rentals was recorded among participants. These figures do not mean that one program alone has solved the problems of tourism, but they show that traveler behavior can change when the change is presented as an experience rather than as a moral lesson.
How CopenPay works
CopenPay turns everyday decisions during travel into a kind of local currency. A visitor who chooses a train, metro, bicycle, walking, an electric vehicle, a multi-day stay or a cleanup action can unlock a reward with one of the partners, depending on which activities are available at that moment. The official program website lists examples such as a free or discounted museum ticket, organic coffee, a discount on a vegetarian meal, extra time for bicycle rental, a free audio tour, a guided walk or participation in activities that introduce the visitor to the everyday life of the city. For travelers planning accommodation in Copenhagen, this means that part of the cost of the stay can be eased, but only if the program is active with selected partners and if the behavior fits the available actions. It is not a universal discount on an entire holiday, but a network of small benefits that reward a specific decision or contribution.
According to VisitCopenhagen's instructions, participation takes place through the app: the user selects an activity, goes to the partner, starts it, and after completion shows a digital confirmation. The organizers emphasize that the purpose of the program is to raise awareness of choices during travel, from the way of arriving to getting around the city. In 2026, special attention is given to visitors arriving by train, because the program starts from the fact that the choice of transport makes up a large part of the climate footprint of travel. Tourists arriving by electric vehicle, according to information from Wonderful Copenhagen, can receive benefits related to parking and charging. The program also rewards longer stays of four or more days with participating partners, because the organizers want to encourage the pattern of “travel less often, but stay longer”, instead of short, intensive visits that create major traffic and spatial pressure.
Can you really save money?
The answer is: yes, but not in the way tourist savings are usually understood. CopenPay does not replace budget planning, does not guarantee a reduction in accommodation prices and does not turn Copenhagen into a cheap destination. What the program can do is cover part of smaller costs or open access to experiences that the traveler would otherwise pay for: coffee, lunch, bicycle rental, a ticket, a tour or a discount on a local activity. The value is therefore both financial and experiential. A traveler who already plans to get around by bicycle, use public transport or visit city districts outside the classic tourist circuit can receive a reward for decisions they might have made anyway.
It is important, however, not to present the program as a trick for a free holiday. Rewards depend on partners, availability, the rules of each activity and the duration of the campaign. According to official information, the list of benefits is checked in the app or on the CopenPay website, which means that the offer may change. For the traveler, it is useful to think of the program as an additional layer of planning, similar to checking museum opening hours or public transport tickets. Those who are willing to adjust their route and timing will benefit the most: for example, choosing a district that can be reached by metro, joining a canal cleanup or replacing some taxi rides with a bicycle. In that sense, “good behavior” becomes both a way to save money and a way to get to know the city more deeply.
The tourist as a temporary resident, not a passing consumer
The core of CopenPay is not only the reward, but a change in the visitor's role. Wonderful Copenhagen states that research into participant behavior showed that rewards themselves are not what motivates them the most: according to the evaluation cited by the organization in its press release, only 23 percent of participants said they were primarily motivated by the reward, while 48 percent cited a unique, meaningful and educational experience as their main motive. The organizers also state that seven out of ten participants reported a change in habits after returning home. Such figures should be read with caution, because they are based on a program evaluation and self-reported behavior, but they suggest that visitors often seek more than passive sightseeing. Copenhagen builds on this the idea that a tourist can temporarily take part in the rhythm of the city, rather than only consuming its resources.
This is an important shift for destinations facing an uncomfortable dilemma: tourism brings revenue, jobs and international visibility, but it can burden transport, public space, housing prices and the everyday life of residents. In many cities, the response has become restrictions, higher fees, limits on short-term rentals or stricter controls on behavior. Copenhagen does not reject the need for rules, but CopenPay shows a different approach in which desirable behavior is made attractive. If a guest receives a local experience because they picked up waste, arrived by train or got around by bicycle, the relationship between the city and the visitor is less conflictual. The tourist is no longer just a person occupying space, but someone who, at least symbolically, gives part of the value back to the destination.
Why transport is at the center of the program
Transport is one of the key reasons why CopenPay is more broadly relevant than the idea of rewarding tourists itself. UN Tourism and the International Transport Forum, in their materials on climate action in tourism, point out that transport-related emissions are a major part of tourism's climate challenge and that the sector must develop lower-emission scenarios and more efficient operations. Wonderful Copenhagen therefore places special emphasis in 2026 on arriving by train, cycling and using public transport. According to VisitCopenhagen's official guide, the program rewards arrival by train because trains generally have significantly lower CO₂ emissions compared with airplanes. This does not mean that every train journey is realistic for every visitor, especially for travelers from other continents, but it shows the direction in which the city wants to guide those who have a choice.
Copenhagen is a suitable place for such an experiment because it already has strong cycling infrastructure and a culture of getting around on two wheels. Wonderful Copenhagen states in its official data that the city has more bicycles than residents and almost 400 kilometers of dedicated bicycle lanes, while the city's cycling guidelines emphasize the use of bicycle lanes, keeping to the right and giving hand signals. For visitors, this means that cycling is not just a tourist attraction, but an everyday way of getting around that requires respect for local rules. The program therefore rewards not only a “green” choice, but also learning behavior that is normal in the city. When a visitor gets on a bicycle, uses the metro or walks to a neighborhood outside the main sights, they move closer to the rhythm of local life and at the same time reduce pressure on the most heavily burdened points.
From a pilot project to a model watched by other cities
CopenPay was first launched in the summer of 2024 as a pilot project, and was then significantly expanded in 2025. According to information from Wonderful Copenhagen, in its second season the program included around 100 attractions and partners and lasted nine weeks. In 2026 it is being transformed into a year-round platform, which is an important test of the model's sustainability: it is one thing to attract attention with a short summer campaign, and another to maintain a network of partners, rewards and activities throughout the entire year. The organization states that the model, under the name DestinationPay, has been presented to other destinations and that more than 350 destinations have been introduced to the concept. According to the same press release, countries and destinations in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia are preparing their own versions, while Berlin is listed as one of the cities that has already launched its model.
For global tourism, this may be the most important part of the story. If this approach can be adapted to different cities, national parks or coastal areas, then rewarding useful behavior is no longer just a marketing campaign by one destination. In a mountain area, the reward could be linked to maintaining trails or using public transport to reach the start of the route. In coastal cities, it could encourage beach cleanups, the use of local ferries or visits to less burdened districts. In cultural metropolises, it could guide guests toward museums outside the center, local workshops or events that involve the community. CopenPay is therefore interesting as a framework, not only as a list of benefits in the Danish capital.
The limits of the “game of good behavior”
Still, the model has clear limits. The gamification of tourism can be useful when it makes better choices easier, but it must not replace serious destination-management policies. If a city has a problem with overcrowded streets, inaccessible housing, uncontrolled short-term rentals or too many arrivals on peak days, a few free coffees and tours will not solve the structural causes. CopenPay is a tool for guiding behavior, not a substitute for transport policy, spatial regulation, protection of residents and long-term planning. Its advantage is that it communicates with tourists in a positive way, but its weakness is that it relies on voluntary participation and on the capacity of partners to constantly offer relevant rewards.
There is also a question of fairness. Travelers who can arrive by train, stay longer or set aside time for a volunteer activity will use the program more easily than those who come from far away, travel with small children, have limited time or reduced mobility. That is why the success of similar models will depend on the breadth of the offer: good activities must not be available only to physically fit, young or flexible travelers. If the program develops, it could also include simple choices such as refilling a water bottle, using public transport, visiting less burdened districts or participating in educational tours that do not require great physical effort. Only then does the “good guest” stop being an elite category and become a realistic option for different types of travelers.
What travelers can expect in Copenhagen
For those planning a trip to the Danish capital, CopenPay is most useful when viewed as an addition, not as the basis of the entire itinerary. Before arrival, it is worth checking the official list of activities, thinking about transport and assessing how much the stay plan can be adapted to available rewards. Travelers looking for accommodation near public transport in Copenhagen can more easily take advantage of activities linked to the metro, bicycles and walks through neighborhoods. Those arriving by train or staying four days or longer should check special benefits related to arrival and longer stays. For visitors who want classic sightseeing, the program can add several unexpected experiences; for those who want a slower and more local rhythm, it can become the way the whole trip is organized.
The most interesting question, therefore, is not only whether the traveler will save some money, but whether a destination can change the logic of a holiday. CopenPay suggests that a holiday can become a game of good behavior if the rules are simple, the rewards concrete and the sense of contribution real. Such a game should not turn travel into a series of tasks, nor hide the fact that tourism has real costs. But it can remind us that every visit to a city is a set of small decisions: how to arrive, how to get around, where to eat, how long to stay, which districts to visit and what to leave behind. In Copenhagen, from June 22, 2026, the city is trying to answer some of those decisions very directly: do something useful and the city will repay you with an experience.
Sources:
- VisitCopenhagen – official information about the CopenPay program, participation rules, activity dates and examples of rewards (link)
- Wonderful Copenhagen – press release from June 9, 2026, about the year-round launch of CopenPay, program results and the international expansion of the model (link)
- CopenPay – official platform with an overview of available activities, ways to participate and examples of benefits for 2026 (link)
- Wonderful Copenhagen / DestinationPay – description of the CopenPay concept, its development from the pilot program and available data on participants and partners (link)
- UN Tourism – materials on climate action in tourism and transport emissions in the tourism sector (link)
- City of Copenhagen – official guidelines for safe cycling and behavior on bicycle lanes in Copenhagen (link)