Jiuzhai Valley in Sichuan is renowned for its natural wonders.[Photo by Wang Jiang/Asianewsphoto]

According to statistics provided by the official website of the Sichuan Tourism Bureau, during the most recent 7-day national holiday, major tourist attractions in the province witnessed a decline in the number of tourists, while tours to ancient towns were in a boom, accounting for half of the most populated destinations.

The Sichuan Tourism Bureau publicized a set of data of the number of tourists visiting 77 4A （including 4A above）scenic areas in Sichuan province. Surprisingly, the five most popular destinations in the area, Jiuzhai Valley, Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area, Leshan Giant Buddha and Mount Emei and Dujiangyan Irrigation System, suffered the first decline in six years in terms of tourist numbers.

Take Jiuzhai Valley for instance. The scenic spot renowned for its natural wonders had enjoyed a steady rise in tourist numbers in the previous five years, with the respective visiting numbers at 94,600 in 2009, 98,900 in 2010,177,000 in 2011, 250,200 in 2012?and 208,400 in 2013, while this year, the number was 177,200, about the same as its 2011 level.

Statistics also show that compared to last year, both tourist numbers and ticket revenue decreased in this year's Golden Week holiday in Sichuan. This year, the number of visitors is 9.87 million, which is a 1.42 percent decrease compared with 2013. The total ticket revenue this year is 0.27 billion RMB, a 4.32 percent decline compared to the same time last year.

Another prominent feature is that among the 10 most popular destinations in this year's Golden Week in Sichuan, five of them are ancient towns, such as Pingle, Jiezi, Luodai and Huanglongxi, of which Huanglongxi ranks number two in the 77 surveyed scenic areas by 694,000 visits.

Experts with the Sichuan Tourism Bureau attributed the phenomenon to last year’s crowd trouble in hot scenic destinations including Jiuzhai Valley. Now with wide coverage by new media, tourists have become more rational in their decisions, avoiding peak periods and traditional populous scenic spots has become the new common sense.

Herd mentality is the main drive behind the scene. "If people all choose to travel in a time that they think is less crowded, a jam is also inevitable", experts say. "Neither the scenic spots nor visitors know the real situation and misinformed judgment can lead to an unexpected jam".

Smart tourism is the only solution to the conundrum, that is, all scenic spots are networked on the Internet and online booking is the only way to buy tickets. This way potential tourists can be well-informed with information, such as which place is crowed and which ones are not.