Vietnam is one of the five fastest growing markets for international air travelers, report the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

According to the IATA's industry forecast released on February 14, Vietnam shares the same growth rate of 10.2% with the United Arab Emirates while China will be the biggest contributor of new travellers with a growth of 10.8% with Malaysia on 10.1% and Sri Lanka, 9.5%.

This indicates that by 2014 there will be 3.3 billion air travellers, up by 800 million from the 2.5 billion in 2009.

To realise the economic growth potential that this will bring, it is necessary to introduce more efficient air traffic management systems, airport facilities and security programmes, said IATA’s Director General and CEO Giovanni Bisignani.

In the meantime, the Vietnam General Statistics Office (GSO) has announced that the number of foreign tourists to Vietnam exceeded 500, 000 in January, a year on year increase of 17.4%. The country is expected to welcome around 5.3 million foreign visitors this year.