Hotels: Bedtime stories as a new perk?

The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an article today about a subject close to our hearts: girlfriend getaways. The trend is booming, the article tells us, and not just for 20-something spring-breakers. Women of all ages are deciding to leave the guys and kids at home and indulge in a little girl time. And the types of getaways are as varied as the women: knitting trips, spa trips, surf trips, city trips—you name it, women do it. Of course, none of this is news to us here at Budget Travel. After all, we’ve been producing our Girlfriend Getaways magazine since 2006. In fact, the response to the first couple of issues was so overwhelming that we’re now doing two issues a year instead of one—and we have a new website, girlgetaways.com. It’s nice, though, to see that other people are picking up on the trend. As the article mentioned, The Fine Living Network just launched a series called All-Girl Getaways, hosted by Stephanie Oswald, who’s the editor in chief of travelgirl magazine; and Marybeth Bond, author of 50 Best Girlfriends Getaways in North America, has come out with a sequel, Best Girlfriends Getaways Worldwide. We can read stats and studies all day about the girlfriend getaway trend, but as always, we'd rather get the scoop directly from you, our readers. Do you have a trip planned with the girls in the next few months? If so, where are you going, and what will you do there?

A survey of American travelers by AAA and GlobalInsight has some interesting findings. China and India may see larger jumps in American visitors this summer than any other country. China may see a 13 percent increase, to 573,000 American visitors. And India may see a gain of 13 percent, too, for a total of 227,000 American visitors. Travel to Canada and Mexico will be about the same this summer as last. Travel to Italy should be up nearly 5 percent, to 1.6 million American travelers. Travel to France should jump by nearly 7 percent to about 1.1 million American travelers. And travel to Germany ought to increase by slightly more than 4 percent, to 724,000 American travelers. Travel to Ireland should rise by about 6.6 percent, to about 337,000 American travelers. [via AAA] MORE 70 readers share their 2008 trip plans... Which European country was the hottest for U.S. travelers in 2007? China: Here's advice on how to tour it from our editor who lived there

Italian national airline Alitalia received fresh hope for survival over the weekend. The European Union has announced that it will allow airlines to put on the auction block takeoff and landing slots that they don't use or that they can't turn a profit on. The new rules could help out Alitalia by allowing it to sell its airport slots—and perhaps even receive money for slots it has been forced to sell off in recent weeks. The Italian government attempted to save the airline with a 300 million euro "loan." But officials from the European Union say that the loan is unfair and in violation of international agreements. Meanwhile, there are reports that German airline Lufthansa might make an offer to buy about 49 percent of the airline. It might do so in partnership with at least one other airline, such as private Italian airline Air One. But, as of this weekend, officials from Lufthansa were saying "no comment." While this news is promising for Alitalia, I would remain nervous about booking with them until they actually receive cash. However, officials from the airline have a different view: Alitalia not only continues to operate normally, but, as of June 1st June, we will reintroduce a new non stop flight Los Angeles to Rome. In the meantime, the privatization process continues at Alitalia. [The airline] employs more than 17,000 people and involves many other businesses and workers in Italy. It's a strategic asset for Italy with a strong social relevance. And Italy itself remains one of the top destinations, worldwide. That explains all the talks surrounding us. Anyway, all parties involved (Unions, Board Members and Politicians) are fully committed to the success of the privatization process. Alitalia now is still controlled by the Minister of Economy of the Italian Government. It's realistic that the privatization process will be completed as soon the new Government is in place, meanwhile please continue to book and buy Alitalia. You'll find what some of our readers had to say about Alitalia in the comments on our recent blog post about the airline.