Luftfoto over Femern Bæltet taget fra den tyske side på Fehmarn. Billede fra 2008.

Aerial photo of the Fehmarnbelt taken from the German side on Fehmarn. Photo taken 2008.

Luftbild über den Fehmarnbelt von Fehmarn aus. Aufnahme 2008.

Everything you need to know about one of Denmark’s biggest projects

Visualisation of the portal and ramp to the tunnel

Finally, after almost 30 years of planning, the turning of the first sod of the construction of the Fehmarn Belt fixed link, the tunnel between Denmark and Germany has finally happened. Easier access to Denmark and Scandinavia – and it opens for new opportunities, also for tourism.

Plans to bridge the 18 kilometers between Lolland, Denmark and Fehmarn, Germany emerged in the late 1990s. Until 2010, when the plans for the bridge got discarded, the 20-km-long bridge stretching the possibilities of engineering should have been ready in 2018. However, in 2010 new feasibility analysis by the Danish Fehmarn A/S showed that a tunnel would be a better solution. It took 8 years to prepare plans for the tunnel and acquire every building authorization, but in 2020 the contract got finally activated by the Danish Parliament, Folketinget. The constructions should have started in the summer of 2020, however, because of the pandemic, they got delayed.Visualisation of the work harbour and tunnel factory.

First, a factory is built to produce 79 concrete elements to be sunk in the Baltic sea and connecting them will form the tunnel accommodating 2×2 lanes of highway and 2 tracks for railway.

Once the tunnel opens in 2029, the 45-minute ferry ride will be replaced by a 10-minute car ride or a 7-minute train-ride. The Hamburg – Copenhagen travel time will be a little over 3 hours instead of the current 5 hours and no ferry schedules have to be paid attention to. Amongst others, it puts Hamburg into the range of an electric car from Copenhagen, so it encourages e-cars. The attraction also increases awareness of the area thus boosting local tourism and Copenhagen will get a new understanding on the German travel market.

Online groundbreaking event for the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel

Click on the image to check out the Danish Ministries of Transport and Housing video about the world’s first digital sod-cutting event. Once completed, Denmark will be the proud owner of the world’s longest car-train tunnel.

 

Watch the Futurology’s video about the construction and the way led up to the groundbreaking.

It's time to meet in Copenhagen again

New Normal at BDP – how we adjust

BDP has still an increased focus on safety while keeping a strong dedication to sustainability and creating unforgettable experiences. As we are all steering through uncharted waters, we decided to create this page to collect relevant information to keep you updated. We hope to see you again soon.

Explore all 5 categories of having a safe and memorable visit to Copenhagen and don’t hesitate to follow the links in the pictures to further explore the topics and read up-to-date information from the authorities.

Copenhill

Bjarke Ingels’ newest footprints in Copenhagen

Danish Architecture is easily considered one of Denmark’s most influential international reputation. In 2019, two tremendous Bjarke Ingels projects reached the bay, the Ying Yang Panda Facility in Copenhagen Zoo and Copenhill. Bjarke Ingels founded BIG – Bjarke Ingels Group in 2005 after co-founding PLOT Architects in 2001 and working at OMA in Rotterdam. Bjarke defines architecture as the art and science of making sure our cities and buildings fit with the way we want to live our lives. Through careful analysis of various parameters from local culture and climate, everchanging patterns of contemporary life, to the ebbs and flows of the global economy, Bjarke believes in the idea of information-driven-design as the driving force for his design process. Named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by TIME Magazine in 2016, Bjarke has designed and completed award-winning buildings globally.

Copenhill

Tourists taking their compulsory selfies with the Little Mermaid might discover a weird, triangle-shaped metal building with chimneys in the background. Copenhill is not only the city’s brand-new urban mountain sports facility but an important milestone in reaching Copenhagen’s plan of becoming Co2 neutral by 2025.

Now all Copenhageners and visitors can hit the slopes in the flattest country in Scandinavia all year round! As a multifunctional urban mountain, Copenhill is placed on top of a state-of-the-art waste-to-energy plant, which is one of the best and most complex of this kind in the world.

Besides Skiing & Snowboarding, the visitor can run, hike and train as well as climb and round up the adventure in their cosy facilities and grab something to eat and drink.

The plant, ARC, produces environmental-friendly energy with the newest technology by burning waste and turning the exhaust into energy which yearly provides the city of Copenhagen with electricity for 30,000 households and central heating for 72,000 households.

Panda Facility

“The arrival of the pandas and the opening of the Panda Facility is a historical event.” – said Jørgen Nielsen, the Administrative Director of the Zoo of Copenhagen.

The preparations to welcome the two panda bears from China started many years ago with the planning of the facility, preparing zookeepers to take care of the pandas and building the facilities. The Ying-Yang shaped Panda Facility were revealed in early 2017 and after 18 months of construction, Her Majesty the Queen, Margrethe II and Her Royal Highness the Crown Princess Mary amongst with other prestigious guests participated in the opening celebrity. Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark also became the protector of the Zoo as the pandas were state-present to the Queen.

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BDP Kick-off 2020

A sum-up and a new beginning

Last week, our annual kick-off took place in Malmö. Throw back on 2019, got inspiration, sat strategies for 2020 and VIP! – dedicated time to have fun and become an even better team. Each department prepared a small activity to sum up their 2019, this way we got the chance to get enjoy Cruise’s presentation, have fun with Admin’s boardgame of BDP keywords and test out the Event Department’s new audio devices on a special guided tour summing up 2019. The event was closedby a delicious dinner above the clouds at Kasai with an enthralling view of Malmö, and we are now ready to embrace 2020.

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BDP the first Danish Incoming Agency to become Travelife Certified

After six months of intense work, BDP has now become fully sustainability certified through Travelife. To achieve the certification BDP complies with 200 criteria related to an operators’ office management, product range, international business partners and customer information.

Travelife is a three-stage certification program for tour operators and travel agents: (1) Travelife Engaged; (2) Travelife Partner and (3) Travelife Certified. We were awarded the Travelife certified (stage 3). The Travelife Certified award is a recognition of our excellence towards social and environmental sustainability. We comply with more than 160 criteria related to sustainability management, office operations, working with suppliers and customer communication. Travelife is a certification body that is formally Accredited by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), the highest global body for sustainability in tourism, supported by the United Nations.

As early as June, BDP was awarded Travelife Partner, the second step on the certification ladder. To become a Travelife Partner was just the beginning and soon after, BDP started taking the next step to graduate to the last and most important step in the Travelife auspices: becoming Travelife Certified as the first incoming agency in Denmark.

Mr Naut Kusters, manager of Travelife for tour operators, “I am delighted to see that sustainability in the tour operators’ sector is obtaining momentum. The award of the front runner BDP will inspire other companies in Denmark to follow the same path.”

“We are proud and truly happy that we have received the certificate, as this is an important milestone. We do hope that fellow industry colleagues will join the same path. Especially in times where expressions as “over-tourism” and “hordes” are heard more often, it is important that we all take responsibility, “ says Hanne Nehmar, CEO & owner of BDP.

Amongst some of the action we have taken to get the certificate was:

  • Involving the community in developing more sustainable products
  • Logging and reflecting upon our CO2-emissions when we travel
  • Focus more on sustainability when choosing suppliers

BDP look forward to continuing the work with these – and new – sustainable actions in the future!

About Travelife

Travelife, which has been established with the support of the European Commission, is the leading international sustainability certification for the travel sector. More than 35 national travel associations are promoting the scheme to their members including ABTA, The British Travel Association and the Danish ReiseVerband (DRF). In 2017 Travelife for Tour operators have reached the GSTC Accredited status from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

AzAmazing Evening Copenhagen

AzAmazing Evening Copenhagen

A magical night at The Royal Opera House

Travelling is all about experiencing and immersing in new, exciting cultures – and this is excatly what we did when BDP hosted the event, AzAmazing Evening, in Copenhagen for the passengers on Azamara Journey.

Azamara’s mission is to enhance Destination Immersion and provide in-depth travel experiences that connect the guests to the heart of local culture – this is what AmAmazing Evenings is all about.

AzAmazing Evenings delivers authentic travel moments that bring guests closer to the destination, its culture and its people. It is a popular event amongst cruise guests worldwide and as such, it is a unique opportunity to show some of Copenhagen’s treasures and culture.

A magical night at The Royal Opera House

This AzAmazing evening took place in The Royal Opera House. The style of the event was a mixture of a high-end night out at the opera with beautiful dresses and a cozy-Copenhagen style evening.

 

Guests were transported from the cruise ship to Opera House on Canal boats this getting a glimpse of Copenhagen’s emblem, the connection and symbiosis with the water.

 

Since the guests had already participated in a guided tour in the morning, they could look at the familiar sights from the beautiful view of the Opera.

 

All in all, it was a magical evening. The guests enjoyed the music, the singers got a standing ovation and everybody had fun and enjoyed themselves to the fullest.

BDP welcomes three new colleagues to the team

BDP welcomes three new colleagues to the team

At the beginning of April, we welcomed three new colleagues to the BDP-family: Lisa, Lucia and Rebekka.

Lisa moved from Germany to Copenhagen in 2015 where she immediately became a guide for BDP. Before that, she studied history and politics and worked in the German administration. After four years as a guide, Lisa was hired as a Project Assistant in the Cruise department where she will be working on cruise calls. Lisa is openminded, thorough and dedicated. Her favourite place in Copenhagen is everywhere close to the water whether it is Amager Strand, Ofelia Plads, Christianshavn or Amager Fælled because it is close to nature, while still being in the middle of a big city.

Lucia is from Columbia where she worked in one of the biggest banks in the country. Recently she worked in an insurance company with responsibility for civil contracts. Lucia also has all-around experience at BDP and have been everything from tour guide to supervisor and freelancer in the cruise department. However last month she started full time in the department. Lucia is enthusiastic, dynamic and cares a lot about family values. Her favourite place in Copenhagen is Churchill Park and she loves to bike around the city.

Rebekka has a masters degree in Performance Design at RUC and a background in marketing, communications and event management. At BDP, Rebekka will be working with experience design and developing a red thread between communication and event. Rebekka is creative, innovative and has a digital mindset. Some of her favourite places in Copenhagen is the many art galleries and museums like Copenhagen Contemporary and Nikolaj Kunsthal.

EUROPEAN CONFERENCE FOR SCIENCE JOURNALISTS (1)

Congrats for the Award to the European Conference for Science Journalists

We are happy to share the news that the European Conference for Science Journalists (Danske Videnskabsjournalister) won the Copenhagen Congress and Event Award for congresses with less than 1000 participants.

BDP was the PCO on this Congress and we are very happy to hear about the award.

Read more about the nomination in Danish on altomkongres

You can read more about the congress here.

Every year Copenhagen hosts around 200 international congresses and sporting events which generates a great income to the city.  The congresses are also a platform for sharing knowledge, attract talent and export.

Danish Hygge Tour (1)

New! Hygge Tour by BDP

Hygge is everywhere these days! In podcasts, books, and the television, and while the Danish concept of cosiness is crossing the Danish borders and getting known in faraway countries, we think there is something inherently danish about the concept of Hygge. And by that, we don’t just think of how it is pronounced (imagine having a hot potato in your mouth)! No, we think Hygge needs to be experienced where it originates from, in Denmark! Therefore we have created a tour, that is filled with cosiness, learning about the Danish way of life, how Hygge comes into the picture, and of course, includes the cosiest places in Copenhagen!

What is the Hygge Tour like?

You will get around Copenhagen with a local Dane who will give you a personal taste of their lives, their city and culture. The concept of Hygge is integrated into the entire tour, which gives you a better understanding of the concept by experiencing it first hand. See non-touristy corners of Copenhagen. Walk past small cosy cobblestone streets, while not missing out on some of Copenhagen major sights.  Then finish off the tour with a surprising twist that will make this tour memorable and give you a real insight into the Danish way of life. But pssst, we won’t reveal much more, we hope to surprise you at the Hygge tour.

Book your Hygge Tour with BDP and experience local secrets around Hygge!

The tour includes:

  • A taste of Hygge (Snack)
  • Refreshments ( Danish beer or other refreshments)
  • Headsets
  • Local experience