Hotel Searches For Fictional "Black Panther" Country Wakanda Rises 620%
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All on Thu Mar 15 05:12:03 2018
XPost: alt.stupidity, rec.arts.movies.current-films
Have people grown so disenchanted with the real world that the instant
they hear of a fictional, fantastical place, they Google to book a
hotel there? This "if only it were real" infatuation first occurred
with James Cameron's "Avatar" and now it's happening with "Black
Panther."
According to the Daily Mail, two hotel booking sites report that
searches for Wakanda — the Marvel character's fictional African country
— has gone up 620%.
"Hotelscan.com reported that the number of people landing on its
Wisconsin Wakanda Water Park page is up by 620% and Hotels.com reported
that searches for neighboring Wakanda Park are up by 55% year on year,"
reports TDM.
A spokesperson for Hotelscan.com said that their site has become a
gateway for people to learn that Wakanda does not exist.
"The fact we've seen such an increase in the number of site visits to
the Wakanda Water Park destination page on our website since the launch
of Black Panther suggests that, until people visit our website
searching for trips, they're not aware it's a fictional destination,"
said the spokesperson.
"Either that, or people are more interested than ever in attending the
Water Park, but we think that the movie has something to do with it!"
he added.
Over at Hotels.com, the site has seen a surge in Wakanda searches
globally, including a 25% surge in ones for Wauconda, Illinois. Another Illinois city, Makanda, has seen a 40% search surge in the past year.
Believe it or not, none of this is exactly new. Following the release
of "Avatar" in 2009, audiences began reporting of what the media deemed
a "post-Avatar blues," as people became depressed over not being able
to travel to the fictional planet Pandora.
"Ever since I went to see 'Avatar' I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na'vi made me want to be one of
them," said a man who contemplated suicide after seeing the film. "I
can't stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and
all of the tears and shivers I got from it. I even contemplate suicide
thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world similar to
Pandora and the everything is the same as in 'Avatar.'"
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