I think one of the factors in the relative convenience of brifters vs bar-end shifters is the spacing of your rear cassette. With an 13-22, there's going to be a fair bit of micro shifting as you go up and down one cog which is perhaps only a tooth different to find the optimal gear. With an 11-34, your rear shifting is somewhat more set and forget.
I got used to brifters on my older Bianchi Volpe. After it was stolen, I mostly ended up looking at touring bikes, which ran heavily to bar-end shifters, and on my test rides, I wasn't a fan of them. I use the bike as a general purpose bike, including a good deal of urban riding where I frequently have to stop/start. I typically like to downshift as I'm braking to a stop so that I can more easily accelerate off the stop. With bar end shifters, I found it inconvenient to have the brakes and shifters so far apart. On the open road, again, it probably wouldn't be as much of an issue. What I ended up doing was getting a Surly LHT, and having them swap the shifters and break levers with Tiagra STI brifters. I use an Arkel small handlebar bag, and it doesn't obstruct either the action or the cables. I suspect I could use a large handlebar bag just fine, as well.
In the first of the Adventure Cycling reports of Interbike, recently, they featured four new touring bikes. Of the four, three had drop bars, and all three of those had brifters, so I think the strict association of bar-end shifters with touring is loosening, somewhat.