posted by Charles H. Russo on Jul 29
Let me start off by saying I am not a huge Harry Potter fan. I’ve read the books, but until recently I’d never bought any of them (all borrowed from friends). I mostly have seen the movies on tv. Of my friends and colleagues, I am the exception not the rule. I am not going to tell you how many Amazon boxes with the final Harry Potter were shipped to Viator’s San Francisco office this last weekend, or how many discussions about good Snape versus bad Snape I have overheard or how many visits to mugglenet happen during lunch breaks. Let’s just say there’s some Harry Potter fans working at Viator.
I thought the mania was primarily US and UK based, so when I headed out a week before the final book’s release to India and Singapore I didn’t expect to hear much more about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. And that’s where I was wrong. Harry Potter has cast a spell over every corner of the globe.
Every bookstore I saw, in any country, had Harry Potter fanfare. The newest Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is being widely promoted in billboard ads all over India (in Hindu and English). I actually helped a dad and his son learn to pronounce “phoenix” properly when they were reading the book title in an airport bookstore in Hong Kong (”its more like fee-nicks not fo-nicks“). In Singapore I finished all my reading material, and realized that I needed to buy something for the thirteen hour flight back home. While meandering about I stumbled across the Kinokuniya bookstore, on the final Harry Potter book’s release day.
Singapore Wizards
While the store was definitely doing brisk business in Harry Potter it wasn’t as crazy as you might think. The best part were the wizard outfits worn by the staff. So what book would you buy? I walked away with the British English version of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I read it all on the plane home, and I wasn’t the only one, I would conservatively say half the plane was reading the book, including the woman sitting next to me.
Rarely do you get to witness first hand a worldwide cultural phenomenon sweep across the globe, it was fun to be part of Harry Potter mania, if only for a few days.
– Kelly G
Really into Harry Potter? Consider apparating to London and taking the three day Harry Potter tour of England. Or Viator’s exclusive Harry Potter Black Taxi Tour.
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