HBO Miniseries Driving Tourism to Chernobyl

A recent HBO miniseries about Chernobyl has resulted in a jump in the number of tourists visiting the abandoned atomic plant and surrounding town.

According to Reuters.com, several tour agencies reported as much as a 40 percent rise in trip bookings since the television series debuted, with English-language tours costing around $100 per person.

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Tourists visiting the Ukrainian plant and Pripyat, the town that once housed 50,000 people who mainly worked at the plant, can walk through an old amusement park that was supposed to open just days after the Chernobyl disaster and still houses a merry-go-round and Ferris wheel.

Tour operators are also offering journeys through locations depicted in the series, including the bunker where the initial decision by local officials not to evacuate after the explosion was made.

“Many people come here, they ask a lot of questions about the TV show, about all the events,” tour guide Viktoria Brozhko told Reuters.com. “People are getting more and more curious.”

Travelers looking to visit Chernobyl board buses in Kiev and are driven 75 miles to the area, where monuments to the victims and abandoned villages can be found. Tourists can also eat at the only restaurant in town.

In addition, visitors can see reactor number four and the 344-feet-high metal dome which envelops the exploded core.