Game on for Game of Thrones Fantasy Tours

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - May 12, 2016) -  Game of Thrones is not just a scary predator play pitting demons and dragons against peasants and princes in the immortal battle between good and evil. It is also a fantasy that put place in a starring role. That means the lands of fire and ice, from the deserts of Morocco to the glaciers of Iceland -- sets that are all available to be visited with the help of some enterprising tour companies.

Tours.com's Travel-Intel focuses its latest issue on Game of Thrones tour options where it is possible to visit King's Landing in Dubrovnik's Old City or see Meereen in Klis Fortress in Croatia. Such tours are offered by Insight Vacations, among others, and, while sightings of the Mother of Dragons cannot be guaranteed, they are all but certain for anyone with a modicum of imagination.

As Iceland, the land beyond the wall in the iconic HBO series, is now getting discovered as a bucket list destination for back packers and discerning leisure travelers alike, this week's Travel-Intel offers an interview with Iceland tourism officials and recommendations for how to optimize a visit to the land of geothermal splendor. Top recommendations: northern lights and a soak at the Blue Lagoon.

Closer to home, Travel-Intel previews a new mystical destination spa experience opening in Malibu, CA next month. Aja Malibu, a rarefied wellness immersion offered in meandering setting just above the waves of the California Pacific, blends the mystical, the magical and the metaphysical in week-long stays for deep change and spiritual healing. The resort is a member of the exclusive Kurtz-Ahlers collection of luxury hotels, resorts and destination specialists.

Also within reach are the Wine Trails of Northern Virginia, with great day trips from D.C. highlighted in this week's Travel-Intel. Ever since Thomas Jefferson tried to turn Monticello into an American magnet for French claret, wine has been the focus for wealthy land owners in Virginia and today, the state ranks fifth in U.S. wine producers with 250 wineries now bottling blends that are winning awards and attention from the top wine panels. Travel-Intel spotlights some favorite wineries and places to stay.

Finally, restless international travelers on the U.S. West Coast are looking to Los Angeles International Airport as the best spot for departure as $4 billion spend over the past eight years on customs, immigration, international departure lounges and the new international terminal has been luring new airlines and new non-stop reach to unusual places on the map. Travel-Intel looks at where you CAN get from there with all the new reach and access from LAX.

These stories and others are featured in the latest issue of Travel-Intel, a weekly publication sent to 103,000 travel agents in North America and posted on Tours.com.

Travel-Intel is written by travel industry journalists and focuses on changing trends in travel. Stories come from a variety of places and positions, whether travel industry conferences and expos, or onsite at popular hotels, exotic resorts, cruise ships and ports, and destinations near and far. Current issues and archives can be viewed at www.travel-intel.com.

"We write about travel for travelers and the travel industry because travel is more about what you don't know than what you do. Travel is a fast-changing field so we keep our readers in the know while keeping it interesting, keeping the story in the information," says Lark Gould, content director for Tours.com and founder of Travel-Intel.

As a veteran travel journalist who has been covering the travel industry for more than 30 years, Lark Gould puts her incisive perspective into the weekly publication, with features and news updates, and also "packages" issues that present great travel deals to be found at hotels and resort locations worldwide. Travel-Intel can be viewed as a stand-alone publication on Tours.com. Gould publishes travel columns and stories for Barclay's Travel Community, the Washington Times, Business Travel Executive, and Business Traveler USA, as well as eTravel.news and Larkslist.

About Tours.com -- the parent company of two well-established tourism websites and three trade newsletters. Tours.com, The only Worldwide Directory of Tours and Vacations, provides a deep and searchable database of tour and vacation operators. Sightseeing.com is the resource for local sightseeing and attractions worldwide. Trade newsletters include Travel-Intel a weekly compendium of research and packages for North American retail agents and Sightseeing News & Views -- highlighting the most interesting developments in sightseeing, attractions and travel brands and VR Tourism News -- the first VR newsletter for the travel industry. Tours.com celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2015.

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