Sri Lanka will implement a short term action plan to revive the country's tourism industry which has been badly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, Tourism Minister Prasanna Ranatunga said on Monday.

He said the government will allocate nearly $1 million over the next four months to revive tourism and the short term action plan was being finalized, reports Xinhua news agency.

Under the plan, 12 new tourist attraction sites identified in several districts would be developed while community tourist villages would also be developed.

Ranatunga said the action plan will also be taken to modernize the Negombo, Kandy, and Kalutara railway stations, in outer Colombo, central highlands, and the south, within the next four months under a project to upgrade the railway stations to attract local and foreign tourists.

Three old forts in Mannar, Kalpitiya, and Batticaloa which are under the supervision of the Archaeology Department will also be further developed.

Nearly 500,000 tourists arrived in Sri Lanka from January to March this year after which the country's international airports were closed due to the pandemic which has so far infected over 3,000 people.

The government said the airport will remain closed till such a time when repatriations are completed.

(IANS)