For the hardcore players with money to burn on traveling, sure. There was a player in our area who booked a flight to Hawaii literally just to field over the western half of the continent. There's also the risk/reward of holding an out of the way Guardian portal, even though it's easy to achieve that badge with a local portal too.

I don't think the creators of the game envisioned that kind of dedication, though. And you're right, that is a fundamental difference between Pokemon GO (which despite the claims of its older players, is definitely targeted at teens and children) and Ingress.