What's Motivating People to Travel These Days? Hint: It's Not Those Summer Airfares

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Jun 3, 2014) - Americans are working harder than ever and taking fewer and fewer vacation days to travel. However, a study shows Americans still plan for at least one trip a year and can be persuaded on the spot to travel more if the deals are strong enough. And when it comes to spending on air transportation, the most critical motivator beyond price is... that increasingly elusive free checked bag.

Tours.com's Travel-Intel looks at research conducted this spring by Parago, a travel incentive and rewards company that surveyed travelers over buying habits. How people plan their travel and what motivates them to buy are detailed in the latest issue of Travel-Intel out this week.

Travel-Intel, published by Tours.com, also looks at those pesky fees cruise lines are charging for onboard amenities. While some lines find their customers prefer bundling all amenities into one all-inclusive price, other lines believe passengers prefer transparency and choice. The debate, written by cruise pundit Bill Becken, includes interviews with executives at Carnival, Celebrity, and Crystal Cruises.

One cruise line, however, follows a different path and goes where few ships dare to tread. North Star Cruises' True North, a 36-passenger luxury vessel based in Australia, takes passengers around the primitive and volcanically active islands of Papua New Guinea and then up the Sepik River into the heart of PNG for a trip like no other. Some itineraries even include free form swimming with mammoth whale sharks and green turtles. These unusual cruise vacations are part of the Kurtz-Ahlers exclusive line of travel products.

Travel-Intel also looks at Aspen, Colo. in this issue and reveals what the mountain hamlet has in store for visitors this summer: music festivals, writers workshops, theater, the legendary Aspen Institute and a "secret season" deal for those able to make last minute plans.

Travel-Intel, the weekly travel industry news channel from Tours.com, reaches more than 100,000 sellers of travel in the U.S. and Canada and is also posted online.

The publication reports from travel conferences and popular hotels, exotic resorts, cruise ships and travel destinations near and far with stories that feature the latest intel on travel. Current features and archives can be viewed at www.travel-intel.com.

"Travel-Intel uses experienced travel writers and reporters to scoop up the constantly changing details of travel and keep our audience current," says Lark Gould, content director for Travel-Intel and Tours.com. "For travel consultants, this is critical. Other travelers and consumers read Travel-Intel for the information it provides with new pieces and original articles -- these are not always things you expect to see from online publications."

As a veteran travel journalist who has been covering the travel industry for more than 20 years, Gould puts her incisive perspective into the weekly publication, with features and news updates, and also "packages" issues 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 publishes travel columns in Larkslist, Business Traveler, genConnect and Barclay's Travel Community.

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.