Space Tourism to Get a Boost From Disney, Smithsonian, Say Officials Working on Spaceport America

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - Dec 4, 2012) - As Spaceport America, just outside of Las Cruces, New Mexico, races toward launch of the first tourists in space, Tours.com's Travel-Intel brings a first-hand look into what Virgin Galactic and other aerospace companies are developing for giving visitors a wow-filled experience in space and on earth.

The latest issue of Travel-Intel reports New Mexico tourism officials are working with imagineers from Disney and consultants from other companies to build a visitors center and spaceport tour that will offer even those who are not heading into the stratosphere some ample entertainment on the ground.

For tourism officials of Las Cruces, New Mexico, the opening of Spaceport America to tourism could mean as many as 500,000 visitors a year, with many of those visitors paying $200,000 a seat for a ride of a lifetime on Richard Branson's prized SpaceShip 2 (SS2) suborbital spacecraft currently in the final phases of testing.

What else is there to do in Las Cruces besides training for space? Travel-Intel features a look at Las Cruces, New Mexico as a colorful travel destination in its own right with a line-up of quirky attractions to consider.

Travel-Intel, a division of Tours.com, monitors the travel industry with weekly newsletters on trends, news and updates about the travel industry sent to a permission-based database of more than 100,000 travel agents in the U.S. and Canada.

With the Christmas holidays approaching, the new issue of Travel-Intel takes a look at a recent Harris poll that reveals who is traveling, how they're traveling and how much they will be spending as the holiday travel season gets underway.

For fashionistas following the style trends to Italy, Travel-Intel features a story on Armani Hotel Milano, a hotel located and representative of the epicenter of fashion with accommodations that fit the tastes of the name that created them. Armani Hotel Milano is a member of the exclusive Kurtz-Ahlers collection.

Finally, for those who are staying in the states this holiday season, Travel-Intel's rundown of the final countdown to America's Party in Las Vegas shows just where the action is come December 31.

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

"This issue of Travel-Intel is especially exciting as few people have been able to get inside Spaceport America to see what's behind the race to launch the first tourists into space. Travel-Intel was able to get an exclusive tour and speak with the captains of industry behind this game-changing endeavor," says Lark Ellen Gould, content director for Travel-Intel and Tours.com.

Travel-Intel brings in first-hand stories from all over the globe, reporting from international conferences and destinations and talking to the brand managers at the helm of the industry.

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" publication during the between weeks that detail great deals to be found worldwide at hotels and resort locations, all sent to more than 100,000 travel agent subscribers in the U.S. and Canada, before posting on Tours.com.

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.