COLOMBO, May 9: Sri Lanka has earned nearly 700 million U.S. dollars from tourism in the first four months of 2023, an increase of 17.8 percent from the same period last year, an official said on Monday.

Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) Chairman Priantha Fernando told media that the country earned 166.5 million dollars from tourism in April. According to figures from the SLTDA, Sri Lanka has received 335,679 tourists in the first three months of this year.

Fernando said last month that Sri Lanka's tourism industry is aiming to attract 2 million visitors in 2023, as compared to the previous target of 1.5 million, and the SLTDA amended the estimates due to a positive trend in the first quarter of the year.

Tourism, one of Sri Lanka's leading foreign exchange earners, has suffered a setback due to the COVID-19 pandemic and economic and political crises in the country.