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Copenhagen ranked among healthiest travel destinations in the world

Christian Wenande
January 11th, 2019


This article is more than 5 years old.

Danish capital comes in 11th on the Healthiest City Index

Copenhagen: crap on sunlight, but solid on fitness and yoga (photo: TravelSupermarket)

If you’re looking for a city to help you keep that New Year’s resolution of living a healthier 2019, or at least a healthier January, perhaps Copenhagen might be the next travel destination for you.

At least that’s what TravelSupermarket, a travel price comparison site, seems to believe – ranking the Danish capital 11th overall in its new Healthiest City Index (see below).

TravelSupermarket looked into the number of parks, gym and fitness centres, spas, yoga and pilates locations, health food shops, and vegan option restaurants in 100 cities worldwide. These figures were then divided by each city’s size to reveal a per square kilometre ‘density’ figure.

“We are part of a generation that prioritises health and wellness more than ever before – this means tourist destinations will have to consider tourists’ needs and cater for the healthy lifestyles of travellers,” said Emma Coulthurst from TravelSupermarket.

“Providing facilities such as gyms, fitness classes in hotels, a range of healthy meal options in restaurants that also cater for specific dietary requirements, and spas around their cities are all great ways to increase the chances of health-conscious travellers visiting.”

READ MORE: Copenhagen – one of the most expensive holiday destinations worldwide

Sparse on sunlight, affordability 
Copenhagen ranked third for gym and fitness centres, fifth for yoga and pilates and in the top 20 for parks and green spaces, vegan option restaurants and health food shops.

However, as one might perhaps expect, the Danish capital’s woes were concentrated in two categories: average sunlight hours (41st) and the cost of a one night stay (44th). The city also ranked in the middle for spas, coming in at 26th.

Paris finished top of the list, followed by Chang Mai (Thailand), Barcelona, Pattaya (Thailand) and Vancouver, while Miami, San Francisco, Lisbon, Denpasar (Indonesia) and Buenos Aires rounded up the top 10.

Other notables included Washington DC (15), New York City (17), Dublin (22), Amsterdam (24), Moscow (34), Osaka (38), Rio de Janeiro (40), Chennai (41), Los Angeles (43), Toronto (44), Rome (46) and Athens (50).


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A survey carried out by Megafon for TV2 has found that 71 percent of parents have handed over children to daycare in spite of them being sick.

Moreover, 21 percent of those surveyed admitted to medicating their kids with paracetamol, such as Panodil, before sending them to school.

The FOLA parents’ organisation is shocked by the findings.

“I think it is absolutely crazy. It simply cannot be that a child goes to school sick and plays with lots of other children. Then we are faced with the fact that they will infect the whole institution,” said FOLA chair Signe Nielsen.

Pill pushers
At the Børnehuset daycare institution in Silkeborg a meeting was called where parents were implored not to bring their sick children to school.

At Børnehuset there are fears that parents prefer to pack their kids off with a pill without informing teachers.

“We occasionally have children who that they have had a pill for breakfast,” said headteacher Susanne Bødker. “You might think that it is a Panodil more than a vitamin pill, if it is a child who has just been sick, for example.”

Parents sick and tired
Parents, when confronted, often cite pressure at work as a reason for not being able to stay at home with their children.

Many declare that they simply cannot take another day off, as they are afraid of being fired.

Allan Randrup Thomsen, a professor of virology at KU, has heavily criticised the parents’ actions, describing the current situation as a “vicious circle”.

“It promotes the spread of viruses, and it adds momentum to a cycle where parents are pressured by high levels of sick-leave. If they then choose to send the children to daycare while they are still recovering, they keep the epidemic going in daycares, and this in turn puts a greater burden on the parents.”