A POPULAR European city is introducing a freebie scheme for holidaymakers – in exchange for some small favours.
In the midst of anti-tourist movements sweeping Europe, Copenhagen are offering a new initiative that gives tourists lunches, alcoholic drinks and attraction tickets – all for free!
For holidaymakers that want to get their hands on the goods, they need to ensure they’re doing environmentally-friendly things around the city.
Holidaymakers will be rewarded for things like picking up litter, cycling through the city and using public transport.
Dubbed CopenPay, the new scheme looks to reward climate-conscious tourists in a bid to combat pollution.
An example of the revolutionary scheme is that visitors arriving at the National Gallery of Denmark with plastic waste will be asked to transform it into a piece of art.
The scheme is bizarrely based on trust, so tourists won’t need to show proof of them riding a bike or picking up litter necessarily.
Participating attractions will not be reimbursed by the Danish government as only a small number of tourists are expected to take part.
Copenhagen tourists can gain free entry to numerous tourist attractions like the National Museum, The National Gallery of Denmark and the Museum of Copenhagen to name a few.
The new scheme will run for one month, starting from July 15, 2024 and lasting until August 11, 2024.
Although the city hopes to introduce the green payment scheme as a year-round measure.
Anti-tourist measures have been sweeping European hotspots as of recent months, discouraging holidaymakers from going to places.
In a different tale, last Monday around 2,800 protesters took to Barcelona’s streets and drenched holidaymakers using water guns in the latest anti-tourism demonstration.
Locals marched along a waterfront district of the city with their furious slogan “Enough! Let’s put limits on tourism”.
Dramatic footage shows mass crowds of Barcelona locals on Saturday bearing placards and, bizarrely, water guns.
Two women are seen pointing their water pistols at tourists with stern looks on their faces.
Some unlucky holidaymakers are sprayed as they’re going about their evening, with some just eating their dinner outdoors at restaurants.
The tourists flee the scene, presumably in an attempt to keep their clothes and belongings dry.
Protesters were proudly holding signs reading “Barcelona is not for sale” and “Tourists go home” as they walked the popular tourist spots of the city.
In an attempt to remedy the “negative effects of mass tourism”, the city council run by mayor Collboni announced a few days ago that it was banning tourist apartment rentals.
A WAVE of anti-tourist measures are being implemented across Europe to curb mass tourism in popular holiday hotspots.
Overcrowding has become the main problem in many sunny destinations, with authorities trying to find a solution to keep tourists and locals happy.
Officials have attempted to reduce the impact of holidaymakers by implementing additional taxes on tourists, or banning new hotels.
Earlier this year Venice became the first city in the world to charge an entry fee for holidaymakers after it started charging day-trippers €5 (£4.30) if visiting the historical Italian centre.
It was followed by an area in Barcelona which resorted to removing a well-used bus route from Apple and Google Maps to stop crowds of tourists from using the bus.
Meanwhile, San Sebastián in the north of Spain, limited the maximum number of people on guided visits to 25 to avoid congestion, noise, nuisance and overcrowding.
The city has already banned the construction of new hotels.
The Spanish government has allowed restaurants to charge customers more for sitting in the shade in Andalucia.
Benidorm has introduced time restrictions, as swimming in the sea between midnight and 7am could cost a whopping £1,000.
The Canary Islands are also considering adopting measures to regulate the number of visitors – and charge tourists a daily tax.
Greece has already enforced a tourist tax during the high season (from March to October) with visitors expected to pay from €1 (£0.86) to €4 (£3.45) per night, depending on the booked accommodation.
Officials in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia want to introduce a fee for travellers to remind people to be courteous during their trips.
