Nepalese nuptials

Pink power. That's something that Cebu, which prides itself as a tourist destination, may want to ponder.

More specifically, it's the pink dollar, or those huge amounts of disposable income that gay adults are enjoying, and which are just out there waiting to be lured. And in fact, some enterprising countries have done just that, causing them to re-align official state policies, and even, as in the case of Singapore, to suspend its criminal laws.

Singapore used to be a draconian state that, at least on its criminal statute books, penalized "gaydom." But all that's changed now. Whereas before, gay Singaporeans preferred to be caught dead rather than be seen in public as sticking 'unnaturally close' to another person, they now march in gay pride parades, flashing huge smiles at thousands of bystanders. 

Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's announcement in 2003 that gays would be allowed to work in the civil service, as well as Lee Kwan Yew's own tolerant statements about the role of gay people in Singapore life, apparently led to this dramatic change. With these official blessings, gay bars and clubs sprouted into life, and Singapore was suddenly heralded by Agence France Presse as Asia's new gay capital. The figures showed gay tourists coming in by the thousands, and spending four times as much as the tourist average.  

South America was not long in riding the wave. In 2007 (or five years after gay marriage was legalized in Argentina,) Latin America's first luxury gay hotel, the Axel, opened its doors.   That probably served as a fitting goodbye to a military dictatorship, which used to jail gay men, and a happy hello to Evita-philes. Again, the thrust was to capitalize on the spending power of gay people, and certainly, given that an all-gay soccer competition had just been hosted by Buenos Aires, the hotel knew there was a market out there.

In September 2007, Reuters quoted an analyst who predicted that the US gay market has as much as 18 million gay and lesbian consumers, with spending power of as much as US690 billion big bucks. To keep things in perspective, apparently, this figure was only slightly below Australia's GDP. And, ad expenditures for 2006 in U.S. gay and lesbian publications was $223.3 million, or three times the amount spent 10 years prior. How's that for mind-boggling?

That's probably what triggered the newest bombshell, or Nepal's announcement that it wants in on the gay action. How? By promoting same-sex 'weddings' at Mount Everest.

Just two years ago, Nepal's Supreme Court ordered the government to enact laws to guarantee the rights of gays and lesbians. The country's new constitution, currently being drafted, is expected to define marriage as a union between two adult individuals, regardless of gender, and to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation. Meanwhile, in 2008, Nepal became the first country in the world to officially recognize a "third gender." Reports have it that the government now issues identity cards that identify applicants for these cards as third sex.

Hot on the heels of these developments came the rumors that openly gay Crown Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil of India and his Nepalese partner were to be the first celebrity gay couple to publicly marry on the slopes of Mount Everest.   What with the hubbub, Nepal now wants to officially woo gay honeymooners and couples who want to take their vows at the Everest base camp.

With tourism reported as one of the main drivers of Nepal's economy, worth about US$350 million last year, and government officials determined to double tourism to 1 million visitors next year, it's no big leap for the Nepalese officials to stake their hopes on gay tourists.

So what's Cebu waiting for? Given these huge numbers, there's a lot of potential waiting out there waiting to be pumped. All we need is an administration willing to push this agenda. Given the right impetus, Cebu might actually jump the gun on its other rivals in the country, and roll out the pink carpet. 

It's election campaign time. Wouldn't it be the perfect opportunity to ask our candidates where they stand on this proposal? If you ask me, it's a good time to see how pink they think.