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Chernobyl to become official tourist destination

Strike a pose: Tourism has boomed in Chernobyl.

Strike a pose: Tourism has boomed in Chernobyl. Photo: Getty

Chernobyl has become the place to visit for tourists, off the back of the hit television series of the same name.

The Ukrainian town is infamous for an explosion in 1986 at its atomic plant, which sent clouds of nuclear material across much of Europe, killing more than 30 people immediately and causing serious environmental repercussions for years to come.

Until the past 12 months, Chernobyl has carried negative connotations. But the Ukrainian government has decided to capitalise on the upswing and take the Chernobyl effect (that’s the television one) to the next level.

This week President Volodymyr Zelensky gave the green light for upgrades to the site to make it more tourist-friendly.

Included in the upgrades will be new walking trails around the power plant, and better phone reception, the BBC reported.

There’s been a rise in tourism and tourism vendors in the wake of the Chernobyl TV show. Photo: Getty

“Chernobyl has been a negative part of Ukraine’s brand,” the British news outlet reported Mr Zelensky saying.

“The time has come to change this.

“We will create a green corridor for tourists. Chernobyl is a unique place on the planet where nature [has been] reborn after a huge man-made disaster.

“We have to show this place to the world: to scientists, ecologists, historians [and] tourists.”

It comes in the same week as the country unveiled a large metal dome that houses the nuclear reactor that exploded 30-plus years ago.

Nine years in the making, it will contain radioactive material to the offending reactor.

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