Sri Lanka, Sept. 28 -- The government has not given up on its initial plans to attract seven million tourists to Sri Lanka by 2025 and generate US$ 10 billion in revenue,Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said yesterday.

He said the government was confident of overcoming the existing challenges and uplift the tourism industry to a better position than it was before the COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister explained that Sri Lanka was one of the first countries to successfully control the COVID -19 virus and with the opening of the airport in the future as per the advice of the health sector, a large number of tourists will be attracted to the country.

The minister was speaking as the chief guest at the World Tourism Day celebrations held a...