Overall tourism numbers in Hawaiʻi were down for a second month in September.
Hawaiʻi was also not a popular destination for Chinese travelers during recent holidays, as they stayed closer to home in the Asia Pacific.
Thailand announced a visa-free policy for Chinese travelers, just before the 10-day rush of China's mid-Autumn festival earlier this month.
The strategy and the timing drew more than 22,000 visitors in the first two days.
The visa-free policy lasts through the end of February.
Thai government officials say it could bring in as much as $4 billion in spending by the time it's over.
Kyodo News reported that flights from China to Japan were nearly fully booked over that holiday period.
Earlier, China's Global Times, which is published by the Chinese Communist Party, said several tours had been canceled following the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the ocean.
Chinese have been slow to return to international destinations since the pandemic.
Most still travel in tour groups, which only resumed to Japan in August.
That same month, Chinese tour groups also returned to South Korea.
But executives in the Korean hospitality industry say they have not seen a big spike in Chinese visitors, and those that are coming are spending less.
The Chosun Ilbo reported that per capita spending of Chinese visitors in duty-free shops was down more than 20% from pre-pandemic levels.
