Yup, you are exactly right. People on the East Coast tend to fly to the Caribbean or Florida for beach vacations. Hawaii is just too far. When I was there in May, most of the returning domestic visitors I met at AC at HNL were from California (hence the extensive service from that state to HNL and elsewhere in Hawaii).

(And, of course, most of the international visitors are from Japan, and are completely enamored with the entrepreneurs on the Waikiki strip who have capitalized on the 2nd Amendment and walk around with signs advertising numerous firing ranges: "Shoot a Real Gun!" the signs say, in English and Japanese. Wow, Japanese tourists are flocking to these locations by the dozens! I'm guessing that guns are illegal in Japan.)