Copenhagen
CULTIGEN - CULture, TourIsm, reGENeration through innovative digital solutions and governance platforms
About the project
Copenhagen is one of Europe’s fastest growing tourist destinations, with more than 11.7 million overnight stays annually and an expected 24% increase in visitor numbers from 2023 to 2030. While this growth strengthens the city’s global appeal and economic vitality, it also increases the risk of over-tourism, puts pressure on key areas, and strains relationships with local communities. Introducing innovative tools such as the Urban Listening Toolkit (ULT), the CULTIGEN project aims to develop sustainable strategies to manage tourism flows, prevent over-tourism, and align residents’ needs with visitor expectations. By including both Copenhageners and tourists, the project seeks to build a collaborative, inclusive and sustainable tourism management model.
Through hyperlocal destination development, the project is designed to promote the city’s surrounding neighbourhoods, thereby promoting sprawl and reducing pressure on popular hotspots. Upon completion, the project is set to provide Copenhagen with deeper insights into both visitor needs and resident concerns. Collaboration between stakeholders – local communities, the private sector and visitors – enables the development of scalable, innovative solutions. Through dialogue driven processes for sustainable tourism planning, management and monitoring, CULTIGEN will help ensure that Copenhagen remains a city for all.
Challenges
of its communities, ensuring development aligns with residents’ needs. Over-tourism is a key challenge, linked to uneven visitor distribution, limited tourism engagement in non-central neighbourhoods, and insufficient data for sound decision-making
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Evidence-based decision-making is crucial for sustainable tourism management, but this is challenged by limited data on visitor behaviour, resident experiences and cultural dynamics.
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Tourism is concentrated in central areas, which risks straining infrastructure and reducing residents' quality of life. There is a need for a redistribution of visitor flows across the city.
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The integration of local values and perspectives is often overlooked in tourism strategies, resulting in limited opportunities for residents to actively participate in planning and decision-making processes.
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on-central neighbourhoods are not exploiting their tourism-related potential. They need new skills to highlight their identity, diversify the city's offerings, and deepen visitor engagement.
Proposed solutions
CULTIGEN integrates digital innovation and participatory frameworks to redefine tourism across Copenhagen. Solutions focus on empowering communities and dispersing visitor activities, ensuring long-term sustainable tourism management and planning for residents and visitors alike. The aim is to balance tourist flows citywide and attract visitors whose interests align with local values, fostering sustainable and inclusive tourism growth.
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An Urban Listening Toolkit (ULT) to collect a wide range of data from residents and visitors, integrating qualitative insights and behavioural patterns. This provides a robust foundation for inclusive, data-driven decision-making.
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Developing alternative tourism routes to expand the experience beyond the city centre. Redistributing visitors to less explored neighbourhoods helps showcase their unique characteristics, and reduce congestion in central areas.
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Community involvement, ensuring shared responsibility for tourism development. Through cocreation processes, CULTIGEN promotes the harmonisation of the wishes and needs of residents and visitors.
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Training and empowerment, enabling communities to showcase their cultural identity. By fostering sustainable tourism skills, CULTIGEN supports local stakeholders in creating unique experiences that enhance the city’s diversity.
Milestones
Event communicating project aims and content. 60-70 participants directly involved at project operational level
Announcement of the three selected neighourhoods where CULTIGEN activities will take place
Launch of the first series of signature events taking place in neighbourhood 1
Innovative new photo-voice app available for tourists and locals to download
An assembly where citizens can join the discussion, voicing their views and wishes
Launch of digital audio/visual guides for each of the pilot