HBO's Chernobyl Has Boosted Tourism in Ukraine

While HBO's limited series Chernobyl had just a five episode run, the show is now the highest-rated show on IMDb , and lead actor Jared Harris is getting some Emmy buzz for his portrayal of Valery Legasov. And as Fox News reports, the show is also leading to a tourism boom.

There have been guided tours taking tourists to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant for years, but tour operators are crediting the 40% increase in visitors to the HBO show. Yaroslav Yemelianenko, the director of Chernobyl Tour , told Reuters that his company is now offering tours based on the locations shown on the Chernobyl show.

View this post on Instagram Before the trip tourists often ask questions about how to dress for a tour to the Zone. Speaking of the clothes for such trips, many imagine NBC suit, gas mask and so on. Of course, the radiation safety rules have not been canceled, but the clothes for the tour to Chernobyl are nothing special. Here are some tips on how to dress for the tour to Chernobyl: 1. All clothes should be closed, with long sleeves. 2. Shoes should be closed, with a thick sole. 3. We recommend having a headwear. 4. You can take a respirator, goggles and protective gloves. 5. In case of rain, take an umbrella or a raincoat. Take care and enjoy your tour! , . , , . , , . , : 1. . 2. , . 3. . 4. , , . 5. . ! A post shared by CHERNOBYL TOUR (@chernobyltour) on Dec 29, 2018 at 6:59am PST

View this post on Instagram Remember that the rules for staying in the Exclusion Zone prohibit touching buildings, trees, plants or sitting on the ground! It is also strictly forbidden to take any items out from the Zone , , , ! ', , , ! - A post shared by CHERNOBYL TOUR (@chernobyltour) on Apr 10, 2019 at 1:41pm PDT

The tours include views of the abandoned villages around the plant, sightseeing through Pripyat (without entering buildings), and lunch at the Chernobyl canteen, which features ingredients brought from outside the city.

The tours are safe, health-wise, as they only venture to certain parts of the plant. In fact, the Solo East tour group claims that the radiation levels that visitors are exposed to during the tour are less than the radiation levels on an airplane.

View this post on Instagram Fox Simeon is the best-known animal of the Chernobyl zone He is unafraid of people and always accepts various snacks Moreover, he even has a page on Facebook! - , Facebook! - , Facebook! A post shared by CHERNOBYL TOUR (@chernobyltour) on May 28, 2019 at 11:52am PDT

While all of the new visitors are good for business, some people aren't a fan of the growing numbers of tourists. Thieme Bosman, an 18-year-old student from the Netherlands, told Reuters that "there are quite a lot of tourists already here and it does kind of take away the experience of being in a completely abandoned town, so I think if more and more tourists come here that will ruin the experience."