In total, 107,000 people have visited the exclusion zone around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant since the beginning of 2019, and almost 80% all of them were foreigners.
The State Agency for Management of the Exclusion Zone announced this in a statement, the CFTS portal reports.
According to the agency, the factors that influenced the setting of this record include increased interest in Chornobyl following the release of HBO’s Chornobyl television series, as well as the introduction of an electronic pass and the creation of additional infrastructure.
“Most visitors – almost 80% – come from abroad. The largest numbers were from Britain (15,738), Poland (9,378), Germany (7,826), the United States (5,580), and the Czech Republic (4,063),” the agency said.
“Transparent rules for crossing the border of the Chornobyl exclusion zone, the introduction of an electronic ticket system, and the smooth operation of the visitor and escort services have made it possible to receive large flows of visitors without difficulties. The fact that the number of visitors is increasing is our collective achievement. We have opened new routes in recent months, including water and air routes, set up information stands in two languages, and increased the number of tour guides. This is only the beginning of the implementation of a large-scale strategy for development of the exclusion zone," said Kyrylo Harnyk, the assistant director of the Center for Technical, Organizational, and Information Support for Management of the Exclusion Zone.
As the CFTS portal reported, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the procedure for using state funds to finance restoration of transport infrastructure in the exclusion zone around the Chornobyl nuclear power plant in June.
As the CFTS portal also reported, British drones have compiled a map of the forest in Chornobyl. Sensors mounted on the drones provided information about the most polluted areas of the forest.
