Mediadiscussion around the Chernobyl zone as an object of «black» tourism in Ukraine

Abstract

The main aim of the study was to determine the quality of media materials containing a comprehensive description of the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat as a tourist attraction in Ukraine.  Recently, more and more domestic Ukrainian tourists and tourists coming to us from other countries of the world prefer to visit non-standard and even dangerous tourist sites known for their tragic history. Today in Ukraine there are several tourist sites that fall into the category of non-standard, one of these sites is the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat in the Kiev region. The sharp intensification of media discussion around the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat, in particular in the media, caused an increase in the popularity of this zone as a tourist attraction in Ukraine, which, in turn, was also reflected in the media. The paper formulates a generalized definition of the concept of «black» or «dark» tourism on the basis of existing definitions, provides examples of other tourist sites in Ukraine, which may also fall under this type of tourism. Ukrainian websites specializing in tourism were studied, and a qualitative analysis of publications on the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat as a tourist destination of Ukraine was carried out. To improve the quality indicators of the content and attract tourists to the Chernobyl zone and Pripyat, the authors of the materials resort to a comprehensive description of the tourist site. They describe in detail not only historical facts, but also the features of the area, flora and fauna and buildings that are located in the tourist area. They also note the limits of the zone allowed for visiting and warn of the danger of visiting the closed zone where tourists are not allowed to enter. The paper presents a detailed qualitative analysis of publications on various indicators, during which a positive and negative orientation of media materials was identified, which has developed, in particular, on the basis of positive and negative reviews about the studied object of «black» tourism in Ukraine.