Culture to boost urban tourism outside the high season

Why should international cultural tourists choose Aalborg, Aarhus, Odense or Copenhagen? A new cross-city project aims to answer that question more clearly. The focus is on strengthening the cities’ cultural profiles and offerings to make them more appealing to international visitors—especially outside peak periods. The project, titled Urban Culture Signature, has just received DKK 4.89 million in funding from the Danish Board of Business Development.

 “I’m pleased that the Danish Board of Business Development recognises the potential in further developing cultural tourism in our cities. Cultural tourism plays a key role in achieving the national growth targets for Danish tourism, so it’s great that we can now work strategically to strengthen the cities’ cultural profiles and offerings—unlocking growth while benefiting local communities,” says Søren Tegen Pedersen, Chair of Danish Urban Tourism and CEO of Wonderful Copenhagen. 

Strong international competition 
Cultural tourism holds great potential, with global growth expected to reach 14.4% annually through 2033 (Trend Analysis: Cultural Tourism, Bark Rådgivning, 2024). But competition is fierce, and many destinations are actively developing their cultural tourism offerings. That’s why one of the main goals of the project is to identify the unique cultural identities of each city and use them to develop compelling cultural products. 

A solid foundation 
Urban Culture Signature builds on the earlier project Cities for Culture, which over the past three years has helped sharpen the cultural profiles of Denmark’s major cities and fostered closer collaboration between the culture and tourism sectors. The project led to a number of iconic culture cases involving 24 partners who co-created new, more sustainable cultural products with international appeal. It also focused on knowledge-sharing, notably through the MOSAIK podcast and the MOSAIK digital platform, now a national hub for inspiration, case studies and practical tools for professionals in culture and experiences. The collaboration has resulted in the development of 30 new cultural products—most with a green and sustainable focus. 

The project also strengthened local networks, making it easier to share experiences and develop joint solutions across cities. Cities for Culture made a clear impact on the international promotion of Danish cultural tourism, while data and analysis provided a stronger foundation for designing relevant, attractive experiences for both domestic and international guests. With over 700 participants in training and networking activities, the project has boosted business development and internationalisation in the cultural sector. All in all, Cities for Culture has laid a strong foundation for making culture an even more powerful driver of urban tourism—also outside the high season. 

“Cities for Culture gave us essential building blocks in our cultural tourism work. Culture plays a major role in urban tourism, so strengthening this field is crucial to the cities’ appeal. I’m particularly pleased that the project enabled us to collect and share knowledge, so we can strengthen culture together—nationwide,” says Søren Tegen Pedersen. 

High ambitions for lasting impact 
When the project concludes in three years, Danish Urban Tourism expects to have a clearer understanding of what each city has to offer individually—as well as what defines the Danish cities collectively. The cities are growth engines for many of the objectives in the national tourism strategy. The project is expected to provide new insights and ideas for how we can move more sustainably toward the national goal of DKK 200 billion in annual tourism revenue—and how we can ensure that 70% of overnight stays take place outside the high season. 

For further information, please contact: 
Rie Søgaard Jensen, Head of Secretariat, Danish Urban Tourism, rsj@woco.dk