It is planned to turn the Chernobyl region into the so-called Renaissance region, making it another “tourist magnet” for Ukraine. The head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine Marianna Oleksiev spoke about this in the program “Official Conversation”
Kyiv. Ukraine. Ukraine Gate – July 4, 2021 – Tourism and Travel
One step towards this goal is to preserve the monuments in the restricted area. It is also planned to include a certain part of the sites in the UNESCO Heritage List.
The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, the Ministry of Environmental Protection, as well as the State Agency for the Management of Restricted Areas, and the State Agency for Tourism Development are actively working on the development of the restricted area.
“In this quadrangle, we are working together on new narratives to satisfy our tours and communication around Chernobyl. The second is restoration. More precisely, the preservation of antiquities in the restricted area. Nature absorbs it. Some things are important to maintaining. Because it will be destroyed naturally. This is what the Deputy Minister of Culture and Specialized Media Policy does. In order to inscribe and preserve some sites on the UNESCO Heritage List, and preserve them as our heritage.”
Now also with tour operators, the issue of expanding the target audience is being studied. So far, young people are more interested in the restricted area as a tourist attraction.
“In our opinion, it is important to work with an older audience interested in the Cold War, the history of the Soviet Union and totalitarianism and so on, and try to reach them. Work with the myths that there is a lot of danger from radiation. Say the place is completely safe inside the tourist routes,” said the expert.
According to her, the number of tourists heading to the Chernobyl region decreased last year, but 90% of them are Ukrainians.
“This is also because foreigners could not come, but more Ukrainians became interested in this area. Therefore, it is important to balance the share of Ukrainian and foreign tourists in the coming years.”
As reported, a weekend tour to the Chernobyl exclusion zone costs about $100.
Read Also: Ukraine Wants to Add the Chernobyl Zone to the Unesco List
Source: Ukrgate