there is no direkt flight between Vietnam and US yet. it is expensive and time intensive to get to the US. but thing is going to change. multiple Vietnam airliners will start serving direkt flights by 2019.
I think it is more than being expensive and lack of direct flight. The ratio should be higher than it is now no matter what. Vietnam has that much privileged classes.
There must be other historical reasons for that. Just as there must be other historical reasons for the overwhelming number of tourists visiting Mainland China. It may have little to do with historical wars or historical peace; the fact remains, there is historical communication (geopolitical, cultural, social, economic), be it peaceful or hostile.
I do not say because VCP kicked the US out of Vietnam and unified the country, so, tourism to the US is low. Japan is China's one of the biggest tourist destinations (the largest foreign tourist group in Japan as well as the largest foreign resident/citizen group in Japan). What matters is historical contact and memory; the content of the memory may not be important.
The fact is the US is just another foreign country for Vietnam. China is, well, China. It, as a concept, is as big, and bigger than, Vietnam itself.
it is better if Vietnam and China cooperate, if not, Vietnam will go alone, as always the case.
There is no going alone, as the case shows. There is always going together, be it peacefully or contentiously. And I do hope, and believe, it will remain peaceful.
