Outbound tourism in the Asia-Pacific Region will see a sharp rebound by 2012, as traffic from China surges and concerns over economic recovery diminish, said a survey released by global payments technology company Visa on Monday.

Fewer tourists are changing their travel plans as the economic uncertainties have declined, indicating a return of the buoyancy in the market.

The number of respondents who are considering changing their travel plans has fallen from 60 percent in 2009 to 48 percent this year. That included the travel to cheaper destinations, the survey said.

According to the survey, Chinese tourists on average are planning at least seven trips over the next two years. Of this four would be international trips, while the rest are to domestic destinations.

"This is good news for travel operators as they will be able to attract more tourists to the Asia-Pacific region," said Richard Chang, general manager of Visa in China.

The survey was conducted in May this year by Nielsen for Visa and the Pacific Asia Travel Association. It covered 6,714 respondents in 13 destinations including Australia, China, Malaysia and the United States.

Most of the respondents were Internet users over the age of 18 who had traveled abroad for holidays in the last two years, or plan to do so in the next two years.

"Expectations of an economic rebound are encouraging travelers to consider outbound trips," said Peng Liang, public relations manager at Ctrip, a Nasdaq-listed travel service based in Shanghai.

Ctrip's revenue grew 46 percent to 742 million yuan (US$109 million) year-on-year during the second quarter, thanks to gains in domestic and outbound travel.

The favorite international destinations of Chinese tourists are locations in Southeast Asian nations and Japan, Peng said.

(China Daily September 7, 2010)