“We’re here to ensure that your journey to Copenhagen creates a better world than if you stayed home.” – Wonderful Copenhagen

If you search the phrase “all inclusive,” you’ll be served images of beachside resorts, smiling families, and sunshine. The promise of carefree convenience has long been a norm in the travel industry, and it has sold a lot of plane tickets and holiday packages. However, the true costs of travel – and its true benefits to society – are often hidden. 

That’s starting to change, thanks to travel industry leaders like those at Wonderful Copenhagen who have been influencing a much-needed transformation. On World Tourism Day (September 27, 2024), the destination management organization released Copenhagen, All Inclusive, its newest strategy that sets a course for a better travel future in the Danish capital. Here, “all inclusive” has taken a different meaning. 

“When we measure the effects of today’s tourism, they are far from all-inclusive,” says CEO Mikkel Aarø-Hansen. “If we want tourism to be a key driver for positive change locally and globally, we must include negatives, such as pressure on local communities and the CO2 emissions that come from transport. But we also need to look at all the positives, such as cultural interactions and exchanges and the broader socioeconomic effects. Without this insight, we will not be able to set tangible goals for how we are going to transform the industry.”

The Destination Think team is proud to have contributed to the Copenhagen, All Inclusive strategy, which identifies three primary goals:

1. Tourism in Copenhagen should accelerate the green transition locally and globally.
2. Tourism creates enriching encounters and lasting value.
3. Tourism in Copenhagen should create larger socioeconomic value for more people.

These goals have been chosen to achieve the strategy’s overarching purpose, which is “to ensure that your journey to Copenhagen creates a better world than if you stayed home.” The destination is also guided by the Copenhagen Compass, which illustrates what broader societal impact looks like. The six categories of impact being measured are: People, Social, Innovation, Socioeconomics, City Life, and Environment. The strategy sends a clear message that travel needs to be good for society and the planet as a whole.

The Copenhagen Compass

We’ve heard this idea often during our Travel Beyond project, which began in 2022. On our podcast, we’ve spoken with some of Copenhagen’s leaders who told us about the journey the city has taken over the past few decades to become one of the world’s greenest, as well as some of the actions local businesses and visitors are taking to keep that momentum alive. (You can also see Copenhagen represented in our Travel Beyond short film, which is screening as a temporary, exclusive preview until October 3.) 

Here is a short video showing some highlights from our Copenhagen interviews.

Mikkel challenges his peers to match Wonderful Copenhagen’s ambition. “We want Copenhagen to be the world’s most sustainable destination,” he says. “By aiming high, we hope to increase the level of competition among all destinations to be greener. Because at the end of the day, tourism is a global business and it takes international efforts to turn tourism into a force for good. Copenhagen has the ability and the responsibility to contribute to this endeavour.”

Our collaboration with Wonderful Copenhagen dates back to at least 2017 with the release of its previous landmark strategy, The End of Tourism as We Know It, which emphasized localhood. In hindsight, this was an important step toward the society-minded mission we see from the organization today. We continue to collaborate with Mikkel and his colleague Rikke Holm Petersen, Director of Communication, Marketing, & Behaviour, from within our Collective, a committed cohort of destination leaders who are providing the peer support needed to solve problems that are bigger than any one place. 

Mikkel also says: ”Many thanks to Destination Think for their valuable insights and input on our new strategy. Rodney and his teams are true leaders when it comes to both ambition and action that makes a difference in the difficult transition of our common visitor economy.”

Thank you, Mikkel, Rikke, and Wonderful Copenhagen for lighting a beacon for the world to follow and showing that travel industry norms can change for the better, if enough of us want them to. The next time you think about an all-inclusive vacation, remember Copenhagen.