One car bomb was placed right by a major tourist attraction

The blasts hit two locations in Bombay - which is also known as Mumbai - including a Hindu temple and the Gateway of India, one of the city's premier attractions for visitors.

But despite the proximity of the Gateway, and of the luxury Taj Mahal Hotel, to the attack, the fact that it appears to be a one-off means travellers may not be put off.

"So far none of our bookings have been cancelled," Subhash Goyal, president of the Confederation of Tourism Professionals of India, told BBC News Online.

"Our Bombay office says that things are normal. Perhaps people are a little more vigilant, but no more than that."

In any case, he said, August is the low season for Indian tourism, coming as it does at the height of the monsoon season.

Financial markets, meanwhile, have bounced back already from the immediate impact of the tragedy, with Bombay's Sensex Index up 1.6% on Tuesday.

One-off?

India's media is blaming extremist Muslim groups opposed to the growing rapprochement between India and Pakistan for the attacks.

After heightened tension and repeated cross-border attacks in recent years, the past four months have seen politicians from both countries meeting in apparent harmony, and the re-establishing of long-prohibited transport links.

"The extremist elements don't want that," Mr Goyal said, "so this is an effort of desperation".

Domestic tourists, he said, would recognise that the attack amounted to a one-off.

If Mr Goyal is right, the news would come as a relief to India's travel and tourism operators.

In March, as war in Iraq loomed, bookings dropped by as much as 50%.

Bombay's location as both the commercial capital of India and an important tourism destination in its own right - as well as the key staging post for travellers heading for the south of India from the much-visited Western state of Rajasthan - means any slowdown could have major economic implications.