Outbound travel from China's mainland is expected to grow at the second fastest pace in Asia Pacific in the second half, an industry survey said yesterday.

MasterCard said in the survey that China's mainland is likely to post a year-on-year expansion of 12 percent in the second half, following Singapore with an anticipated rise of 23 percent.

Outbound travelers from China are set to top 24.4 million in the second half, MasterCard said.

"In spite of global economic uncertainties and rising inflation, outbound travel in Asia Pacific is poised for steady growth over the rest of 2008," said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic adviser to MasterCard Worldwide in Asia Pacific.

"This is largely due to the fact that income and employment have not been seriously affected by the global credit crunch and higher inflation has yet to translate into higher prices in accommodation costs."

But he added that should these conditions change, the outlook will be very different.

MasterCard surveyed 5,404 consumers from 12 markets in May. On the mainland, 600 consumers were interviewed. The participants were aged above 18 years and came from the middle and upper income groups.

The mainland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan remained the most frequently visited destinations for business travel, according to the survey.