Bhutan woos Chinese tourists, but fears backlash from India
As entrepreneurial travel agents in Bhutan chase the tourist yuan, the tiny Himalayan nation is wary of a reaction from its closest ally, India, writes Dinah Gardner.
For the first time, Bhutan is facing China in a football World Cup qualifier. While few expect the Little Dragon to win the June match, the atmosphere in Thimphu's stadium moments before kick-off is electric. More than 10,000 Bhutanese - fathers with toddlers on their shoulders, monks wrapped in swirling burgundy robes, young couples with faces daubed in the team's orange and yellow - thump drums, blow horns and wave flags and streamers to the chant of "Bhutan! Bhutan!" They easily drown out the 100 or so Chinese fans who have found their way to this tiny Himalayan kingdom to support their national team.
Surprisingly, scores of Bhutanese fans are also waving red Chinese flags.
"There are so few Chinese here and so many of us," one Bhutanese youth says, explaining that it is "kind to help them out". Local tour guides are, in fact, distributing the flags to the Bhutanese fans, a reflection of the efforts the landlocked country's agencies are making to entice Chinese tourists.
They needn't worry. Increasingly affluent and mobile, the Chinese middle class are signing up to Bhutanese package tours in their thousands; China is fast becoming Bhutan's biggest source of tourists (that title went to Thailand last year). But while local tour companies experiment with ways to cultivate this market, behind the scenes, the country is mindful of how that might effect its special relationship with New Delhi.
the same reasons that have inspired travellers since Bhutan opened to tourists, in 1974. They arrive in search of unpolluted nature, exotic culture, Buddhist heritage, magnificent dzongs (fortresses) - and happiness.
In 1972, Bhutan's fourth king, Jigme Singye Wangchuck, came up with the concept of "gross national happiness", an economic model that measures well being.
