Copenhagen’s sustainable tourism initiative, CopenPay, has inspired the introduction of similar initiatives in Germany.
CopenPay offers tourists vouchers for participating in climate-friendly actions such as cycling, travelling by train instead of air, joining clean-up efforts, and volunteering at urban farms. Tourists can then use the rewards to claim free items and services, including meals and coffees, tours, bicycle rentals, and museum and gallery entrance tickets, as reported by Travel News.
Due to the initiative’s massive success over the past two years, tourism authorities in Berlin and Bremen in Germany are introducing similar initiatives to encourage sustainable tourism practices.
“CopenPay stands out as an inspiring example of how creative measures can effectively raise awareness for more sustainable travel. In Berlin, we share this ambition and are currently considering setting up a similar concept tailored to Berlin, in close collaboration with our partners from the visitor economy,” said Sabine Wendt, CEO of visitBerlin.
Bremen Tourism launched its own initiative in partnership with the national rail provider, Deutsche Bahn, to offer overnight travellers arriving by train surprise bags filled with vouchers and small gifts from various local tourism businesses.
“CopenPay served as a major inspiration, guiding us to develop new, creative ways to actively reward climate-friendly travel behaviour. The campaign was very well received by our visitors and has encouraged us to further expand the concept, strengthening Bremen as a sustainable destination. For 2026, we are planning an even larger initiative,” says Oliver Rau, MD of Bremen Marketing and Tourism.
