Chernobyl to become ‘official tourist attraction’ where visitors can explore the ghost town on their own
FANS of HBO's miniseries Chernobyl will soon be able to visit the nuclear disaster site with ease.
Ukraine's president announced on Wednesday that it was planning to launch a plan to turn the abandoned ghost town into an official tourist site.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he wanted to open up the site in a bid to improve the area's reputation.
There will be new walking trails and better mobile phone reception in the area as part of the plans, , which means the tourists who visit will be able to get close to the haunting sights of the disaster zone and post what they see straight onto social media.
Filming restrictions at the site will also be lifted, meaning that people could potentially live stream their experience.
And there will also be waterways and checkpoints to safe guard visitors.
According to President Volodymyr Zelensky, the country will also be introducing a new ticketing system, which they hope would reduce the corruption in the area.
Previously, tourists could only visit the site with a guide - or enter illegally - and there were occasions where local police would need to be bribed.
Scientists, ecologists, and historians will also be given better access to the site.
GHOST TOWN When was the Chernobyl nuclear disaster and how many people died?
The destination has been a hot spot for Instagram influencers since the premiere of an HBO miniseries about the disaster earlier this year.
The disaster took place in 1986, when a nuclear reactor exploded, leaving a contaminated wasteland in its wake.
At least 31 people were killed as a result.
Is it safe to visit Chernobyl?
The site and Pripyat, the city next to the nuclear site, have been safe for tourists to visit since 2010.
Visitors have to be screened before they enter the Exclusion Zone and are told not to touch anything within the cordon.
There are around 160 villages in the Exclusion Zone - the 18-mile radius around the power plant.
Dark tourism is a known phenomenon where people visit areas, such as Chernobyl, that had horrific histories or were touched by disasters in some way.
Earlier this year, Sun Online Travel revealed how tourists were heading to Chernobyl for raves, art shows and stag dos.
The Netflix show Dark Tourism revealed why people were interested in visiting such sites.