Vietnam's tourism sector is projected to return to pre-pandemic levels in 2025, the local newspaper Vietnam News reported on Thursday.

The industry accounted for 9.2 percent of the Southeast Asian country's annual gross domestic product in 2019, with a record 18 million international arrivals and 720 trillion Vietnamese dong (30.2 billion U.S. dollars) in revenue, according to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Vietnam has also aimed to attract 35 million international visitors by 2030 with a steady growth of 13 to 15 percent a year through a wide range of stimulus measures, the tourism authorities said in the latest development strategy.

With the target to position itself as an ideal tourism destination in southeast Asia, Vietnam will develop a quality and sustainable industry to draw high-spending and long-stay visitors.

The tourism authorities plan to boost foreign tourist numbers from traditional markets including northeast Asian countries, Europe, ASEAN region, North America, Russia, and Oceania; targeting new emerging markets like India and Middle East countries; and launch more online publicity campaigns to raise awareness about its potential.

Vietnam expects to open its doors to several tourism-focused projects to win over international visitors who are interested in medical, beauty treatments, or leisure activities combining meetings, incentives, conferences and events.

Vietnam received nearly 1.8 million international passengers in January and February, with revenue from their spending estimated at 3.6 billion dollars, paving the way for its tourism sector to earn 27.3 billion dollars this year, equivalent to 90.3 percent of pre-pandemic levels.