Bhutan, the insular Himalayan kingdom, famed for its adoption of "gross domestic happiness" as the key measurement of its success, has so far targeted visitors with deep pockets in a deliberate policy to promote "high value" tourism.

The online version of Bhutan's state-owned Kuensel newspaper said Thimpu expected more than 30,000 tourists in 2010 in a first step to meet an ambitious target of luring 100,000 wealthy tourists to the hilly country by 2012.

"We want to expand this sector without compromising our policy of high quality, low impact and not volume tourism," Kuensel quoted prime minister Lyonchhoen Jigmi Thinley as saying in a report dated 14 September.

"We're doing quite well. The highest was in 2008 and, this year, we are definitely going to cross the 30,000 mark, possibly 35,000. And this is our starting year against the target of 100,000 tourists by 2012," he said.

Relevant news in Chinese: 不丹力争在两年内使游客人数增长三倍