re: Short answer:
Thanks for that nuance.
Of course, such a maglauncher would be quite expensive, but think of the advantages. You have no fuel propulsion part, and no two stages (airplane, high altitude ignition); just one stage with your propulsion source on the ground.
This does sound much safer. And I think that's a factor for which many tourists are prepared to put up (much) more money. Never forget that ordinary people remember the explosion of the space shuttle -- such disasters are engraved in our collective memory --, and people are wary of chemical rocket style propulsion.
Still, the costs would probably be prohibitive.