Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced his country's desire to turn the Chernobyl nuclear power plant into a tourist destination and change the reasons for its negative fame around the world, according to the BBC and Lonely Planet.
This came after interest in the cities of Chernobyl and Pripyat, located near Ukraine's northern border with Belarus, rose by 30% since last April, as a result of HBO's broadcast of its famous television series about the 1986 reactor explosion and how the Soviet Union dealt with its aftermath.
Zelensky added that his government plans to introduce an electronic ticketing system and set up special checkpoints for visitors in an attempt to regulate entry, stressing that the government will ease the restrictions on filming inside the exclusion zone and will work to support mobile phone coverage in the area, in addition to creating dedicated routes for tourists visiting the area.
Tour operators expect the number of tourists visiting the city to double this year, reaching 150,000.
He said: "Chernobyl is a unique place on the planet, where nature was reborn after a huge man-made disaster, and we must show this place to the world, to environmentalists, historians and tourists."
In a related context, a safe dome was built around the site of the reactor explosion to contain radiation leaks in order to protect tourists. Its construction took about 10 years, and the dome was designed to last up to 100 years, allowing time to eventually dismantle the reactor while keeping the radioactive contaminants in and water out.
For her part, Claire Corkhill, a researcher at the University of Sheffield, told Business Insider that tourists are more likely to be exposed to radiation during their journey to Ukraine than during the visit itself. Precautions currently in place must therefore be followed: tourists are required to wear long-sleeved clothing, long trousers and closed shoes inside the exclusion zone, which extends about 20 miles around the nuclear power plant, and not to sit on or touch anything or any stray animals around Chernobyl, and to shower after returning to their hotel rooms. Their clothes are also checked at radiation checkpoints, where contaminated items are washed or confiscated.
It is worth mentioning that the Chernobyl disaster occurred in April 1986, killing 28 people, including plant workers and first responders, and causing thousands of others to fall ill from radiation-related conditions such as cancer, immune system diseases and birth defects in the three decades that followed, according to the Chicago Sun-Times. Scientists predicted at the time that the area would not be safe for human habitation for another 20,000 years.
