Economic influences on air transport in Vietnam 2006-2019

Vietnam has emerged from a long and complex post-colonial experience as a fast-growing economy now embedded in the complex network of economic linkages in the Asia-Pacific region. Those linkages involve trade, foreign direct investment, and tourism. Their underlying geography is reflected in the geography of Vietnam's air transport linkages. An early set of air connections with ASEAN neighbours, especially Singapore and Malaysia, are still significant, though routes to South Korea and China are now more important. Within the country, the colonial structure of Hanoi as a political capital, and Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City) as a trading city, provided the framework for domestic air transport linkages. Here too the geography has shifted to include a set of smaller cities, especially those with tourism activities. The Hanoi-Ho Chi Minh City corridor is still dominant, and now ranks as one of the busiest domestic routes within the Asia-Pacific. These outcomes confirm the effect of economic development on air transport in Vietnam.