Foreign tourist arrivals to India rose 12.4 per cent in the first three months of 2003 from the same period a year earlier, government data showed on Thursday.

A government statement said 771,294 foreign tourists visited India between January and March compared with 686,122 in the year earlier period.

Foreign exchange earnings in January-March also rose 15.1 per cent from a year earlier to $876 million.

The rise in arrivals comes after a disastrous year for the tourism industry when the number of visitors dipped due to an increase in tensions between India and Pakistan following an attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001.

Many countries had advised their citizens to avoid travelling to the region due to the troop buildup by the two nuclear-capable neighbours.

Then in February, India's worst religious violence in a decade erupted in the western state of Gujarat, also deterring foreign visitors.

The World Travel and Tourism Council expects India to be among three boom areas for tourism after 2003, even though it now accounts for barely 0.4 per cent of the global tourism market, with just 2.4 million visitors in 2001.

Analysts say Indian tourism has failed to fully exploit the potential of the country's snow-clad Himalayas, jungles, palaces and sun-soaked beaches due to poor marketing.

India spends just $10.5 million a year promoting itself globally.