US, Sept. 19 -- International visitors are fading from Hawai tourism mix while Americans increasingly fill the gap. That may keep hotel revenues flowing - but it raises a bigger question about what kind of tourism economy Hawai actually wants.

For decades, Hawai was not merely an American vacation destination. It was one of the Pacific's great international meeting places.

Japanese honeymooners filled Waikiki hotels. Canadians escaped winter for weeks at a time. Australians crossed the Pacific. Europeans incorporated the islands into ambitious long-haul journeys. And, for a brief but potentially lucrative period before the pandemic, China appeared poised to become an important new source of visitors. That international character is now ...