WATCH: 'Always beautiful' Tartus rocked by bombings

A string of bomb attacks hit mostly government-controlled areas of Syria on Monday, killing several dozen people.

At least 35 of those were killed in President Bashar al-Assad's coastal stronghold of Tartus, state media reported.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said at least 48 people had died in the multiple blasts, with dozens also wounded in a double bombing outside of Tartus. The city is known for being home to a Russian naval base. 

In Tartus, two blasts targeted the Arzuna bridge, "the first a car bomb and the second a suicide bomber who detonated his explosive belt when people gathered to help the wounded", according to state television.

WATCH: Syrian government 'holiday destination' Tartus rocked by bombings

Tartus has largely been spared the worst of the Syrian civil war's violence since the conflict broke out in March 2011.

The attacks came after the government launched an offensive to get tourists to its "always beautiful" country - in the midst of a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands and laid waste to major cities.

The tourism board kicked off its campaign with a swanky video showing panoramic shots of beaches in Tartus, close to the protection of Russia's permanent naval base, and holidaymakers swimming and jet-skiing off Syria’s Mediterranean coast. 

WATCH: Syria launches campaign to lure tourists to 'always beautiful' Tartus