Yes, I agree novelty attracts people (challenge, new perspectives) and certainly the first manned CEV flight will attract crowds.
And returning back to the Moon too....
And going to Mars for the first time.

But where I disagree with many space nuts, are the justifications behind these missions.

For instance, going back to the Moon will be a repeat of Apollo with more people and for a longer time but essentially it will be flag and footprints, they say. I say: that's fine with me! It's about exploration and exploration is about moving and returning back.

Zubrin advocates Mars because it's about settling on a new world. But there's a huge step between going there the first time and settling there without the watchfull public eye behind the enterprise.
Going to Mars isn't different from going to the Moon: it's first of all exploration. But our contradiction comes from the fact that robots can often do a better job than humans, in this area. That's why other human challenges are brought forward but will they attract the public as much?