2009 will be the year of the travel deal

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Lodging
Travelocity's Brown encourages savvy travelers to look beyond airfares "to see what they can get out of their hotel stay, whether discounted room rates or value-added promotions which are everywhere - free nights, free breakfast, free room upgrade. In Vegas, it's gambling credits and spa credits."

Demand for hotel rooms in the first quarter of 2009 is expected to be down 1 to 2 percent, while supply will be up about 3 percent, with new properties opening that were planned before the recession, according to Smith Travel Research, which tracks the industry. "A drop in occupancy is certain, and with that we can already estimate that rates will soften somewhat," said Smith Travel spokesman Jan Freitag.

Frommer adds that more folks are staying in hostels, which are cheaper than hotels, and the number of hostels is increasing. "People are throwing up hostels everywhere, converting old hotels, even taking what are just ordinary homes and adding bunkbeds to create unlicensed hostels," she said.

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Special dates
Anniversaries often bring out the best in a destination with exhibits, festivals and deals. Here are some big anniversaries in 2009.

The bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth will be celebrated in Washington and many states with exhibits, events, heritage trails and performances. Details at http://www.lincolnindc.com/ and http://www.abrahamlincoln200.org/. The interest in Lincoln coincides with a surge in interest in President Franklin Roosevelt's Depression-era New Deal and sites associated with President-elect Barack Obama, from places where he lived like Chicago and Hawaii, to Washington, where record crowds are expected for the Jan. 20 inauguration. All this has led the ad agency JWT to declare "presidential sightseeing" a top travel trend for 2009. One event to look for: A recreation of Marian Anderson's 1939 concert at the Lincoln Memorial will be held on Easter Sunday.
Alaska marks 50 years of statehood in 2009 with a three-day celebration ending Jan. 3. Check http://www.alaskaturns50.com for deals and events.
Berlin marks the 20th anniversary of the November 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall with exhibits and events; http://www.visitBerlin.de.
Scotland in 2009 marks the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, who wrote the words to "Auld Lang Syne." A "Homecoming Scotland 2009" celebration will include a "clan gathering" in Edinburgh, July 25-26, for people of Scottish ancestry from around the world, http://www.homecomingscotland2009.com.
The Indianapolis Motor Speedway was established in 1909 and kicks off a three-year centennial celebration in 2009, marking the 100th anniversary of the facility in 2009 and the 100th anniversary of the Indy 500 in 2011, http://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/.
Baltimore, Philadelphia and Richmond, Va., mark the 200th anniversary of poet Edgar Allan Poe's birth, with many events taking place in January.