On June 8, Japan passed a law requiring short-term apartment rentals to be registered and licensed by June 15. Short-term rentals now must each display their license in their online ads. In order to comply with the law, on June 8 Airbnb (airbnb.com) agreed to list only licensed apartments.
Using crime reports from local police and governments as well as incident reports from users and on Twitter, the app “RedZone Map” can show you the safest walking routes to your destinations in many cities worldwide.
The app, free on iOS and Android, displays the safest route in green. A shorter route might also be displayed but in red if it is not the safest. The app also can show real-time updates of events happening along your route, if other users report them. A network or Wi-Fi connection is necessary to use the app.
Falconry is a popular sport in the United Arab Emirates, and visitors in Abu Dhabi can tour the Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital (Sweihan Road, Al Shamkha; phone +971 2 575 5155), the world’s largest and most advanced falcon hospital.
A 2-hour tour ($62 per person) begins at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Sunday through Thursday. Visitors learn about the history of falconry, see examples of medical care and can each hold a falcon on their arm.
Book through Viator (www.viator.com); type “Abu Dhabi Falcon Hospital” in the search box.
Stretching for miles and, at times, hundreds of feet underground, three tunnels dug by North Korea underneath the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) into South Korea are accessible via tours from the south side. Each has been blocked with concrete at the border.
• The Second Tunnel, discovered in 1975 in Cheorwon, has three exits and can accommodate tanks. Only 500 meters of the 3.5-kilometer tunnel is open. Tours, including entry to the Cheorwon Peace Observatory, cost KRW4,000 (near $4) per person. Closed Tuesday.
The first purpose-built permanent cruise terminal for Rome, Terminal Amerigo Vespucci, opened in Civitavecchia, Italy, on May 21. Jointly owned and operated byCosta Cruises, MSC Cruises and Royal Caribbean International, it can accommodate larger ships.
2.4 million passengers are expected to board there each year, using 120 check-in counters and 90 boarding-status monitors. It includes a VIP lounge plus a small museum with Roman and Etruscan artifacts.
In Florence, Italy, increased security at the Duomo (the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Fiore), initiated in early 2018, has caused long wait times for visitors. The Duomo is most famous for its 15th-century dome designed by Filippo Brunelleschi. It is recommended that visitors arrive early (before 8:30 a.m.), when lines are shorter.
The city of Palma, on the Spanish Mediterranean island of Majorca, will begin banning short-term apartment rentals (such as those listed on Airbnb.com) in July. Locals have complained that rents for apartments have increased more than 40% since 2013 and also that the conditions of neighborhoods have deteriorated due to the behavior of tourists.
Short-term rentals of houses and chalets, or rooms therein, will not be banned. Palma already requires short-term rentals to be licensed, but it is estimated that less than 10% of the available rentals in the city are licensed.
US travelers can get a free one-way internal flight (from Melbourne, Brisbane or Sydney) to Australia’s Outback (Alice Springs, Darwin or Uluru) until Dec. 31, 2018.
As of May 31, the $10 fee charged to each foreign visitor flying into the Dominican Republic will be added to the airfare instead of being collected at Customs upon arrival. The island nation is hoping this reduces the hassle and time spent at the airport. Visitors arriving on cruise ships each still must pay the $10 in cash on arrival.
No visas are required to enter the Dominican Republic for US and Canadian travelers.
Jiuzhaigou, a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Sichuan Province, southwestern China, reopened to the public on March 8, seven months after it closed due to damage from a magnitude-7 earthquake.
Due to the danger of future quakes, visitors now are limited to 2,000 per day, and each must show proof of insurance before entering.