Hawaii is facing another problem after a tsunami brought by the massive earthquake in Japan hit the shores of Hawaii and damaged many establishments and homes last week. At the moment, the island is bracing for a decline in the number tourists from Japan.

The island, whose economy depends mostly on tourism, is a top U.S. travel destination for many Japanese citizens.

Japanese account for more than 1.2 million of the total 16.6 million tourists in Hawaii last year. They had dispensed around $1.9 billion in Hawaii or around 17 percent of the state’s $11.4 billion total visitor revenue in 2010.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie said the consequences of the downturn in Japanese travelers in the economy of Hawaii might be severe. The state is already experiencing an expected shortfall of almost $1 billion for the next couple of years.

The Japanese are well favored in Hawaii because of their fondness for dining and shopping. Every day, about 13 direct flights travel to the Aloha State from Japan. They bring about 3,000 to 5,000 visitors.

Hawaii has already had several canceled flights from Japan. As a consequence, arrival of thousands of visitors has been hampered. After the March 11 earthquake, new bookings from Japan decreased by half and cancellation of flights tripled, based on the information gathered from H.I.S Hawaii travel agency.

However, the company’s assistant manager Naomi Hashizume said the cancellation rate has decreased to less than 10 percent since Wednesday. Hashizume is still optimistic that the travel market will rebound soon when Japan is fully restored.