Exmoor National Park is rewarding tourists for good behaviour this summer

Nobody wants to be one of those tourists. You know, the ones hated by residents and urged to stay away by local officials. Overtourism has led parts of the UK to introduce (or threaten) visitor taxes, including some of the country’s biggest cities like Edinburgh and Manchester.

But one part of the UK is trying to combat overtourism in a more positive way, by rewarding visitors who have a positive impact on the local area. Exmoor National Park in the southwest is offering discounts to tourists who complete certain ‘good deeds’ this summer. Yep, you read that right. The park wants to give visitors savings for completing certain activities.

The four tasks deemed to have a ‘positive impact’ on the area are pretty simple, too. They include: a two-minute litter pick to keep Exmoor clean and tidy, travelling to and from the park by bike or using public transport, posting on social media encouraging others to care for the park, or downloading the iNaturalist app to record three species of plant or animal life for Exmoor’s ‘knowledge bank’.

Participants in the scheme, which has been titled ‘Pay with Exmoor Care’, are able to claim a 20 percent discount on purchases at the Exmoor National Park Centres in Dulverton, Dunster and Lynmouth.

Exmoor was inspired by the CopenPay scheme in Copenhagen, where good deeds like biking around the city, arriving by train or cleaning up the harbour can earn you treats like coffees, guided tours or bike rental.

Exmoor’s pilot project, which started on July 1 and runs until September 30, could pave the way for more national parks to introduce the same rewards in the future. Find out more about Pay With Exmoor Care on the project website here.

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