The former CEO of Adblock has journeyed close to the world’s rooftop in the pursuit of selling happiness— of the Gross National variety. Gabriel Cubbage is leaving the free adblocking company that started out in 2009 as a tool in the Google Chrome browser arsenal. Bhutan, a remote Himalayan Buddhist kingdom nestled between China to the north and India to the south, is one of the last countries in the modern world tapped to excess by the tourist industry.
Gross National Happiness (GNH) is an edict, first declared by the 4rth King of the spiritually based nation in 1972 that underscores a commitment to non-economic, holistic approaches to wellbeing such as psychological and physical health, cultural diversity, ecological resilience and living standards. Since then GNH has been widely covered by the Western media for tourists looking to find a slice of happiness in its rich foreign culture, centuries-old traditions and exotic natural and manmade wonders.
It’s no wonder that Cubbage started his Himalayan trek to build the new company and never looked back leaving Adblock after a nearly two-week guided tour of the kingdom. The founder of 67 Robots and Gray Langur Tours left his position as CEO of U.S-based Adblock in October of last year to become its product strategy VP. Now he has quit in an effort to support developing countries such as Bhutan by ‘celebrating’ their unique culture and philosophy that differs from many Western attempts to increase consumer happiness.
He may be climbing the right mountain considering how untapped the tourism market is in Bhutan with tourism only beginning in 1974. The nation selects who will visit by being what’s known as a ‘high-value’ destination at approximately $250 U.S a day—tours and accommodations included. This helps to keep traffic down to protect its heritage and ecology while making a profit at 1.8 per cent of GDP which is good for the country and business prospectors looking to set themselves apart from the competition. Meanwhile, Adblock already has a new owner, but the buyer’s identity remains anonymous.