The task of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine and the State Tourism Development Agency is to develop the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone and include individual objects in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The Minister of Culture and Information Policy Alexander Tkachenko wrote about this on his Facebook page.
He noted that before it is included in the UNESCO list, it is necessary to streamline the procedure for visiting the Chernobyl zone, invite art curators and develop routes, train guides, attract restoration specialists, ensure quality basic infrastructure, review safety issues, and develop an independent tourism brand of the Chernobyl exclusion zone.
"Almost 35 years have passed... Now the exclusion zone is a tourist magnet. In 2019, it was visited by more than 120 thousand tourists, and the beginning of this year was the most successful ever in terms of the number of visitors. But the quarantine has come... And the time it gives us must be used correctly," Tkachenko emphasized.
According to him, tourists are now interested in the radar station and the ghost town of Pripyat. However, in addition to these objects, there are enough powerful locations in the Chernobyl zone that are important to visit.
"That's why we will develop. This is not only a tourist attraction, but also a place of remembrance, where you should come to understand the truth about the disaster and its "ultimate effect," the minister wrote.
