HBO show success drives Chernobyl tourism boom

Visitors stand outside the New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure over the old sarcophagus covering the damaged fourth reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, in Chernobyl, Ukraine June 2, 2019. Picture taken June 2, 2019. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

CHERNOBYL, Ukraine (Reuters) - The success of a U.S. television miniseries examining the world's worst nuclear accident at Chernobyl has driven up the number of tourists wanting to see the plant and the ghostly abandoned town that neighbours it for themselves.

One Chernobyl tour agency reported a 40% rise in trip bookings since the series, made by HBO, began in May and which has attracted outstanding reviews.