It should be noted also that the agencies, their industrial partners and a number of "space tourism" advocates have all previously thought about repeating the Apollo 8 Moon mission, if only to do one simple loop around the back.

BBC: Manned flight around Moon considered

The industry is thought to generate more money locally than tourism.

BBC: Darjeeling tea growers at risk

Four million dollars might be a lot to spend on a holiday, but those in the nascent space tourism industry say hoteliers have been slow on the uptake because no one thought the cost of space travel would come down as quickly as it has.

CNN: Fly me to the moon: Space hotel sees 2012 opening