A pilot program that rewards tourists with ecological behavior and lures, free food in good restaurants, drinks and even skiing comes into force from today in Copenhagen.

In contrast to Barcelona and other tourist cities that implement measures aimed at putting a “brake” on excessive tourism, the capital of Denmark is taking a different approach.

The national tourism board has introduced a program to encourages a climate-friendly, sustainable behavior.

From today, it will pay off those who choose to cycle, use public transport or do a small task such as gardening or picking up rubbish at the port or city parks.

People who bring their own reusable coffee cups can expect to receive free coffee at select venues, while other good behavior perks include a free cocktail at a rooftop bar overlooking the city or extra time on its artificial ski slope city.

Mikkel Aarø-Hansen of the official tourist board Wonderful Copenhagen said he hopes the idea will act as an inspiration for other cities to create a more mutually beneficial relationship between tourists and locals.

“We need to ensure that tourism, instead of being a burden on the environment, becomes a force for positive change,” he said. “Our main goals are to make travel more sustainable. However, we will only achieve this if we manage to bridge the large gap between visitors’ desire to behave sustainably and their actual behaviour.’ He added that the challenge was “more complicated than it sounds.”

“We want guests to make more conscious, more climate-friendly decisions and thus have a more satisfying travel experience,” added Aarø-Hansen.

On the other hand, Barcelona

Barcelona is not the only popular tourist destination taking drastic measures in an attempt to curb or control the travel boom.

Day trippers to Venice now have to pay a new tax of 5 euros, while tourists in its old port Dubrovnik have recently been told to avoid using rolling suitcases or lifting them because of the noise they make when being pulled along the cobbled streets.

Majorca, Ibiza and other Balearic islands have meanwhile introduced strict restrictions on alcohol consumption. Other destinations are experimenting with a range of methods, from entry fees to restricted visitor zones to control the flow.

CopenPay, which will initially run until August 11, is seen by authorities as a pilot project, which could be replicated and expanded if successful.

This may in the future include rewarding visitors who take the train rather than the plane to get to Copenhagen.