Vlkolínec, at the heart of Slovakia and the Carpathians, is described by UNESCO as “an outstanding example of a traditional Central European rural settlement, with 43 unaltered houses.” The “remarkably intact” log-built, painted village and its layout remain “virtually unchanged,” the UN body says, and its “architectural style has been fully retained.” It is hailed as “the best preserved and most comprehensive unit of its kind in the whole region.”

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Публикация от OOCR RAJecká Dolina (@rajeckadolina)

But the village’s permanent population of 14 people is outnumbered more than 7000-to-one by the 100,000 annual visitors that descend upon it, and they have had enough. Speaking to the UK’s Mirror tabloid, one local said: “UNESCO has turned us into a tourist ‘zoo.’ This supposed honour has become not just a burden – but a living nightmare.”

Echoing the complaints of British villagers in the rural Cotswolds, the Vlkolínecians say they are being “crushed” and spied on by crowds. It is not merely the volume of tourists then, but the visitors’ anti-social behaviour that is the issue. Some of the poor etiquette experienced includes trespassing in villagers’ gardens and courtyards, and taking photographs through private windows.

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Публикация от LIPTOV ↟↟↟ Slovakia (@visitliptov)

What’s more, only four families now remain in the village, and that is a problem, according to heritage expert Miloš Dudáš, speaking to Slovak newspaper Dennik N. UNESCO treasured the village precisely because it was a living village and not “an empty or ‘dead’ open-air museum,” he said. But since the listing in 1993, that has changed, resident numbers having shrunk by nearly 50% in those three decades.

Anton Sabucha, Vlkolínec’s most senior inhabitant, agrees that the way of life has changed, telling the same publication that normal life has been made impossible. “Make sure they remove us from UNESCO, we would live better. Due to strict regulations, we cannot raise pets and cultivate crops as we used to.”

While those “strict regulations” have impacted the villagers for over thirty years, it’s not fair to say the UNESCO status alone caused today’s overtourism. Changes in tourist behaviour—driven by social media and the urge to take unique photos—must also have played a major role.

@getoutherelivin Vlkolinec – the name of this sweet, colourful village hidden in the northern mountains of Slovakia #slovakia #mountainvillage #unesco ♬ Home – Edith Whiskers

The UN agency points to another culprit, too. The village is “vulnerable to the impacts of tourism,” it says, attributing the change of character to “the increase of temporary residents acquiring property for recreational purposes.”

It is not the first time the supposed prestige of “official” recognition has been rejected by those on the receiving end. In 2025, authorities in Peru responded dismissively to New7Wonders’ criticism of how sustainably Machu Picchu was being managed. In that instance, though, UNESCO came out of the controversy better, described by the Peruvian Ministry of Culture as “the only competent body to promote the identification, protection and preservation of cultural and natural heritage.”

In the case of Vlkolínec, it is up to both UNESCO and the Slovakian national government to decide whether the village’s World Heritage status is a help or a hindrance to its survival.

L’article Slovakian villagers demand UNESCO revoke World Heritage status citing overtourism est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

KleinVision has signed a license agreement with Hebei Jianxin Flying Car Technology Company Limited, which is based in Cangzhou, a heavily industrialised city 180 kilometres from Beijing. The value of the deal has not been disclosed, but its scope is “geographically limited” to an as yet unnamed area of China.

Anton Zajac, co-founder of KleinVision, announcing the agreement hailed it as “a significant step in our mission to expand global access to revolutionary mobility solutions and drive progress in the industry.”

A flying two-seat sport car

The AirCar, designed by Professor Stefan Klein, founder of KleinVision, is styled like a two-seat sport coupe. It has a 160 HP BMW engine, a fixed propeller, folding wings, and a ballistic parachute and can drive as a road vehicle as well as fly, with the reconfiguration taking just over two minutes. Unlike e-VTOLs (electric vertical take-off and landing) vehicles, the AirCar cannot take off vertically and needs a runway.

It has been put through its paces in prototype phase, notching up over 70 hours of test flights before certification by the Slovakian authorities in 2022.

“A great equaliser”

Lack of infrastructure, regulatory frameworks and public attitudes towards flying cars and drones remain barriers to widespread adoption. In the UK, there are strategic plans to accelerate their implementation and acceptance, with efforts to change people’s minds about them in the meantime including using them to deliver medical supplies. 

Some aviation and mobility experts see them as potential levellers within the transport sector. Aviation consultant Steve Wright, speaking to the BBC, has said the “new mode of transportation is a great equalizer.”

Wright also noted that, while the U.S. and Europe are playing catch up with the tech and its regulatory implications, China could take the lead, as they have done in the electric vehicle sector. “In this respect, the West’s history can sometimes slow things down, as there is a bit of a temptation to try and squeeze these new machines into the old categories,” he said. “China could see this as an opportunity to get ahead.”

Other flying vehicles in development in China

There are signs this is already happening. Autoflight, a Shanghai-headquartered e-VTOL developer, carried out a successful 20-minute test flight of an (empty) passenger drone from Shenzhen to Zhuhai last month. And another autonomous vehicle, the eHang flying taxi, developed by Guangzhou EHang Intelligent Technology Co. Ltd gained safety certification in 2023.

L’article Slovakia’s flying car licensed for production in China est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Following Aeromobil 4.0, the world’s first production flying car, AM NEXT will disrupt and democratize the regional travel market.

Patrick Hessel, AeroMobil’s CEO

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The company’s main goal is to save time for all passengers who want to travel between major cities. Flight distances can range from 160 to 804 kilometers. They also intend to put an end to the much hated traffic jams. The AM NEXT is not the Slovakian brand’s first prototype of a futuristic flying car.

As recently as 2017, Aeromobil unveiled the 4.0, a luxurious personal vehicle that could carry two people. In the air, it could reach speeds of 360 kilometers per hour. With its wheels planted on the ground, the speedometer reached 160 kilometers per hour. It will provide a better, and in many cases previously unavailable, solution to trips in the 100-500 mile range

The AM NEXT will reshape and democratize the regional travel market. It will offer a better, and so far unattainable, solution for travel between 160 and 800 kilometers.

Patrick Hessel, AeroMobil’s CEO

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Although Hessel has not yet revealed possible flight values, he says that in North America this new transportation market could be worth approximately €63 billion. It will still be a few years before the hybrid is officially released to the general public. AeroMobil will be traveling around the United States to introduce the 4.0 vehicle to investors and onlookers.

With its flying cars, the company aims to make personal transportation more efficient by offering the choice of transport on the road or in the sky. But it is not only Slovakia that is making big efforts to develop the technology required for flying taxis. In Silicon Valley the prototype of a car that can take off as early as 2022 is being built.

ASKA’s four-seater vehicle has six thrusters and is mostly electric, with a small gas generator to recover the spent battery. It is designed to take off and land vertically, but also has wheels to be driven like a traditional car. “When you land, various parts bend and the vehicle becomes just like a car,” explained David Hoover, ASKA’s production manager, during a futuristic technology event in Las Vegas.

Japan’s Skydrive owns the prototype of an air cab that has already spent thousands of hours in flight. It looks like a drone, with two seats. It has eight individual engines and eight thrusters. “It’s quite small because we want it to be able to land in the same places as cars,” explained Nicholas Zart, the brand representative, during the event.

This air cab is autonomous and the company’s main goal is to popularize it within the tourism field, with a special interest for experiences that offer panoramic views on cruises and popular destinations such as the Eiffel Tower and the Grand Canyon. They hope to have it working as early as 2025.

L’article Slovakian flying taxi to start making 800-km trips in 2027 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

AirCar, the duo mode car and aircraft developed by Klein Vision has received a transportation permit from the Slovak authorities, paving the way for commercial production. The flying car was granted a certification for “airworthiness” after completing more than 70 hours of test flights, including more than 200 take offs and landings. In one of the trial flights, the concept car flew during 35 minutes between two cities in Slovakia, Nitra and the capital, Bratislava.

“AirCar certification opens the door for mass production of very efficient flying cars,” reacted Stefan Klein, the inventor and test pilot. “It is official and the final confirmation of our ability to change mid-distance travel forever.”

“Fifty years ago, the car was the epitome of freedom. AirCar expands those frontiers by taking us into the next dimension, where road meets sky,” added the cofounder of the venture Anton Zajac.

2. Duo mode

After landing, the aircraft is transformed into a car and driven like a regular road vehicle. To morph back into an aircraft, the whole transformation process is entirely automated and it takes about three minutes, after the push of a button. The Aircar is equipped with a 1.6-litre BMW engine, giving it a maximum flying speed of 170 kilometres per hour. Similar to an aircraft, the vehicle needs a 300 meters long runway before its take-off. Once it is airborne, it can fly up to a distance of 1,000 kilometres.

3. Commercializing

Upon receiving certification from the Slovak authorities for the AirCar, the company can also file an application for aircraft type certifications. After these certifications are in hand, the company will be eligible for producing the vehicle commercially. However, only certified pilots will be allowed to fly the AirCar.

Klein Vision, the company which created AirCar, says the prototype took about two years to develop and cost “less than 2m euros” (£1.7m) in investment. Flying cars have long been a visionary landmark of the future and the market for them is expected to be huge. Companies in the US and the Netherlands are also developing similar types of transporting. Nonetheless, the vast majority has a helicopter-like vertical takeoff procedure and are mostly designed for short distances.

“I do believe we will see full electric or at least hybrid vehicles of this, or similar kind, in the near future, contributing to our environmental sustainability targets,” commented Kyriakos Kourousis, chairman of the Royal Aeronautical Society’s Airworthiness and Maintenance Specialist Group.

L’article Slovakia certifies flying car as airworthy est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

1. AirCar

The vehicle, which is a hybrid car-aircraft equipped with a BMW engine running on regular petrol-pump fuel, was driven by its creator, Professor Stefan Klein, who drove it straight off the runway and into Bratislava town. Spectators and invited reporters watched as he made the journey early last Monday morning, which he described as “normal” and “very pleasant”.

According to Klein, AirCar can fly about 1,000km at a height of 8,200ft and has so far clocked 40 hours in the air. The vehicle can carry two people, with a combined weight limit of 200kg and during the test flight cruised at a speed of 170km/h. Unlike drone-taxi prototypes, AirCar cannot take off and land vertically but instead requires a runway. The car takes just two minutes and 15 seconds to transform from car into aircraft, and after flight the narrow wings fold down along the sides of the car.

2. Potential market

Klein Vision, the company which created AirCar, says the prototype took about two years to develop and cost “less than 2m euros” (£1.7m) in investment. Flying cars have long been a visionary landmark of the future and the market for them is expected to be huge. In 2019, consultant company Morgan Stanley predicted the sector could be worth $1.5trillion by 2040 whilst Hyundai Motors Europe chief executive Michael Cole has called the concept ‘part of our future’. This type of vehicle is considered a potential solution to the strain on existing transport infrastructures.

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Публикация от Stefan Klein (@kleinvision_official)

Anton Zajac, an adviser and investor in Klein Vision, stated that if the company could attract even a small part of global airline or taxi sales, it would be hugely successful. ‘There are about 40,000 orders of aircraft in the United States alone’ he explained, ‘And if we convert 5% of those, to change the aircraft for the flying car – we have a huge market.’

L’article New flying car prototype AirCar completes test flight est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.

Can I travel to Slovakia?

Yes, but

1) All persons who from 8 December 2020 from 7:00 a.m. enter the territory of the Slovak Republic and who have visited exclusively the countries of the European Union, Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the Swiss Confederation during the previous 14 days, isolation in the home environment or in a quarantine accommodation facility is ordered, which shall end:

• upon receiving a negative result of the RT-PCR test for COVID-19,
• upon completion of its 10th day with an asymptomatic course of isolation,
• with an asymptomatic course of isolation in children under seven years of age, byending the obligation of home isolation for persons living with them in the common household.

2) All persons who from 8 December 2020 from 7:00 a.m. enter the territory of the Slovak Republic and who have visited a country that is not a member of the European Union during the previous 14 days, isolation in the home environment or in a quarantine accommodation facility is ordered, which shall end:

• upon receiving a negative result of the RT-PCR test for COVID-19,
• with an asymptomatic course of isolation in children under seven years of age, by ending the obligation of isolation for persons living with them in the common household.

Important: isolation in the home environment is imposed on all persons living in the common household with the persons referred to in par. 1 and 2.

These persons shall be obliged:

• to register at the latest immediately upon entry into the Slovak Republic at the website http://korona.gov.slc/ehranica,
• during their stay in the territory of the Slovak Republic to be able to submit a confirmation under letter a) to members of the Police Force of the Slovak Republic.
• undergo a laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19 at the earliest on the fifth day of isolation in the home environment or in a quarantine accommodation facility,
• children under the age of three shall undergo diagnostics for COVID-19 if so determined by the relevant regional public health authority or healthcare provider who provides healthcare in the pediatric specialization and with whom the child has a healthcare agreement concluded.

The above obligations listed under points 1 and 2 do not apply to:

• persons who, upon entering the territory of the Slovak Republic, are able to submit a negative result of the RT-PCR test for COVID- 19 performed in laboratories outside the territory of the Slovak Republic, not older than 72 hours;
• persons who have a permanent or temporary residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic and are nationals of any of the countries of the European Union, Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, the Principality of Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or the Swiss Confederation and who overcame COVID-19 disease no more than 3 months before entering the territory of the Slovak Republic and are able to submit a certificate pursuant to Annex 3 upon entering the territory of the Slovak Republic;
• persons who have visited exclusively a country listed in the “List of low-risk countries and territories” below during the previous 14 days;
• pther persons to whom the exemptions apply can be found in the Decree of the Public Health Authority.

1. List of low-risk countries and territories

• Australia
• China
• Finland
• Ireland
• Iceland
• Japan
• New Zealand
• Singapore
• Norway
• South Korea
• Taiwan

2. Arrivals through the internal border

Third country nationals, EU/EEA citizens as well as citizens of Swiss Confederation may enter the Slovak Republic through the internal land borders of the Slovak Republic with the Czech Republic, Republic of Austria, Republic of Poland and Hungary, as well as internal air borders (border crossing points located at the airports on the territory of the Slovak Republic)

• without restrictions – if arriving from a low-risk country, under condition that the person has not visited a country not listed as a low-risk country, within previous 14 days;
• under the condition of compliance with the respective quarantine measures of the Public Health Authority (self-isolation, testing for COVID-19, registration at the website http://korona.gov.sk/ehranica, etc.) in accordance with the provisions of the Decree of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, in case they have visited a country not listed as a low-risk country. Categories of persons, to whom exemptions from the quarantine measures apply are stipulated in Sections 4 – 7 of the Decree of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic.

There are no border control checks carried out on internal borders of the Slovak Republic. Therefore a foreigner with a valid travel document and a visa or a residence permit (if required), who has legally entered or is staying in the Schengen area, may also enter the territory of the Slovak Republic, independent of the purpose of travel to the Slovak Republic (business trips, visit of family or friends, unmarried couples etc.). Please note that the conditions of entry to the country (countries) of transit should be verified with the competent authorities of the country of transit and the respective air company. An individual confirmation certifying the authorisation of entry of the foreign national to the Slovak Republic through internal borders is not required.

3. Arrivals through the external border

The external border (i.e. Schengen border) is a land border between the Slovak Republic and Ukraine. The external air borders include also international airports in the Slovak Republic (M. R. Štefánik Airport, Airport Poprad-Tatry, Košice Airport), in case of arrivals from countries outside Schengen territory.
On condition that the person complies with all epidemiological measures, the arrival to the Slovak Republic through the external border is possible for the following categories of foreign nationals:

a) Third country nationals who are relatives of persons with the permanent or temporary residence in the Slovak Republic or relatives of the Slovak citizens, i.e. husbands/wives, minor children, parents of a minor child entering the Slovak Republic Minor children, husbands/wives do not have to travel together with the foreign national; their family relationship shall be demonstrated by presenting, for example, a birth certificate or marriage certificate (Should a foreign national not carry the original, a standard copy of the document shall suffice.). If the document exists only in a foreign language, the foreign national shall provide for its translation (a non-official translation is enough). When undergoing the check, the foreign national should present the original in the foreign language and its translation.

b) Third country nationals who have a valid residence in the territory of the Slovak Republic, pursuant to Act No. 404/2011 on the Residence of Foreign Nationals, as amended, and who present themselves with a valid residency permit, a residence ID and a statement confirming that their residency has been registered, or who are holders of the national visa issued by the diplomatic mission of the Slovak Republic. The entry of third country nationals for the purpose of attending the nursery school, basic school, high school or university in the territory of the Slovak Republic is considered a valid residence permit pursuant to this point as long as the person is able to present a written confirmation of this fact.

c) Persons with the residence in Australia, China, South Korea, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore and Taiwan. The residence in one of these countries may be demonstrated by presenting a travel document, a residence permit or at least two other documents (e.g. confirmation of health insurance, lease contract, work contract, confirmation of employment, title of deed etc.).

d) Third country nationals – pendlers (cross-border workers), permanently or temporarily residing in neighbouring border areas of Ukraine within 30 km from an open border crossing to the territory of the Slovak Republic and who have an employment relationship, a similar employment relationship or a place of work (e.g. for self-employed persons) in the territory of the Slovak Republic within 30 km by road from an open border crossing to the territory of the Slovak Republic and hold a certificate of the employer of such performance of work or a certificate of such performance of work in a unified format.

f) Foreign nationals who belong to certain categories of the Decree of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic which imposes measures in the event of a threat to public health concerning the quarantine obligations of persons after entering the territory of the Slovak Republic in the wording of its later amendments (e.g. transiting persons, persons providing care of close relatives),

g) Third country nationals, who are holders of an exemption in accordance with the Section 6 of the Decree of the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic. The person, to whom an exemption has been granted, must have a negative result of the RT-PCR test for COVID-19 not older than 72 hours when entering the territory of the Slovak Republic. In justified cases, the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic may grant an exemption from this obligation based on a justified written request of a member of the Government of the Slovak Republic under his authority.

h) citizens of EU member states;

4. Passenger Locator Form

All persons who arrive to Slovakia by airplane are obliged to fill in the registration form: Public Health Passenger Locator Form and to obey all epidemiological measures as ordered by the Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic.

Request for consent of the Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic with transit shall be sent to: corona.transit@minv.sk.

L’article Travel restrictions in brief: Slovakia 🇸🇰 est apparu en premier sur Travel Tomorrow.