Quirky Festivals Worth the Drive, Plus Tips on Traveling With a New Baby: Travel Intelligence From Travel-Intel

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jul 16, 2013) - The list for great American festivals to catch this year may be surprising. On the docket? Running with the bulls -- in Cave Creek, AZ. With a purse worth $10,000, it just may overtake Pamplona in popularity. Also in the offing? A cheeseburger fest in Caseville, Mich; a lentil celebration in Pullman, WA; a Cat Video hullabaloo in St. Paul, Minn., and a big Bugfest in Raleigh, N.C.

These are just some of the places attracting the attention of Americans this summer as they head out for vacation, according to Travel-Intel. The weekly travel industry news channel from Tours.com reaches more than 140,000 sellers of travel in the U.S. and Canada.

For those who are traveling farther afield, Travel-Intel notes that Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) may soon be the international gateway of choice as the 40-year-old Tom Bradley International Terminal debuts the first phase of a $4 billion upgrade next month. The terminal will sport a loftier look and a Great Hall packed with Beverly Hills shopping and star chef dining options.

Some of those travelers maybe headed to long-haul destinations in Asia. Among those places is Ananda, a wellness resort in the foothills of the Himalayas four hours by train from New Delhi. Travel-Intel notes that wellness escapes mark a fast-growing travel trend for stressed out Americans. Ananda is meeting that trend with value-priced retreat weeks that can change life, body and spirit for those who seek change.

Closer to home, Travel-Intel profiles Twin Farms, a luxury resort (member of the exclusive Kurtz-Ahlers collection) in South Central Vermont that features artfully-designed accommodations, inventive gourmet dining, and plenty of hiking, biking and spa pampering. The all-inclusive stay makes a perfect hub for days of antiquing, exploring and checking out Vermont's tradition of summer festivals and county fairs -- also listed in the latest issue of Travel-Intel.

And in this month of baby madness with Kate's and Kim's baby news, Travel-Intel looks at what it takes to travel with a baby and offers a "Travel with Baby" primer to new moms that will help them travel more safely and comfortably with their infants and toddlers in tow.

Finally, Travel-Intel looks at Holland America Line and its new list of world cruises for 2014. As an innovative move, Holland America is offering these voyages in "bite-sized" itineraries that run from 14 to 28 weeks, taking in bucket list destinations in palatable chunks rather than one extended voyage. Also new: three of the four world cruises announced leave from U.S. ports.

Travel-Intel, a division of Tours.com, monitors the travel industry with weekly updates on trends, news and destinations for a database of more than 100,000 travel agent subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, and an overflow of travel companies around the world. The publication dispatches writers to travel conferences and popular travel destinations to bring back the latest intel.

Although Travel-Intel is direct-mailed, current features and archives can be viewed at www.travel-intel.com.

"Travel is an ever-changing field, a landscape that needs to be monitored closely. The rules and facts of travel are shifting constantly and it is our job to keep up and keep our readers current and interested," says Lark Gould, content director for Travel-Intel and Tours.com.

Gould, a veteran travel journalist who has been covering the travel industry for more than 20 years, puts her incisive perspective into the weekly publication, with features and news updates on the 1st and 15^th of each month. These issues are complemented by the Travel-Intel "packages" publications that detail great deals to be found at hotels and resort locations worldwide. Travel-Intel can be viewed as a stand-alone site on Tours.com. Gould also serves on the editorial team for travel in the online communities section of the Washington Times.

About Tours.com: Tours.com since 1995 -- The Official Directory of Tours & Vacations Worldwide. Tours.com has a deep and searchable database of vacation and tour companies searchable by company name, destination and/or activity. A comprehensive one-stop Travel Resource section, plus the Find a Travel Agent Specialist search allows one to search for travel agents with in-depth knowledge in their chosen specialty.