If you thought the travel bargains were unbelievable this year, just wait until 2010.</p><p>I&rsquo;m aware that this prediction flies in the face of conventional wisdom. I mean, how many travel experts have you seen on TV warning that the deals are going, going, gone?</p><p>They&rsquo;re everywhere. But they&rsquo;re probably wrong. Here are places to find bargains during the Year of the Deal.</p><p><strong>&bull;Bargains are (almost) everywhere. </strong> If you come across a hotel or cruise line that insists it never discounts, don&rsquo;t believe it. In 2010, everyone will discount. It&rsquo;s just a question of how much. Amanda Sundt, the chief marketing officer at the adventure travel site www.iexplore.com, says upscale resorts will continue to offer spa and dining credits and two-for-ones.</p><p><strong>&bull;Yes, even airlines.</strong> The travel industry&rsquo;s soothsayers want you to believe that airfares are on the verge of taking off again. They may be right. But they probably aren&rsquo;t. Chris Lopinto, the president and co-founder of <a href="http://www.expertflyer.com">www.expertflyer.com</a>, says lackluster demand from leisure travelers will continue to keep fares low.</p><p><strong>&bull;Forget blackout dates. </strong>Resorts offer so-called &ldquo;value&rdquo; season during off-peak times to lure guests. Guess what? Those value prices could last all of 2010, according to hoteliers such as Steve Heydt, president of Elite Island Resorts, one of the largest independent Caribbean hotel groups. </p><p><strong>&bull;Catch the wave. </strong>The &ldquo;wave&rdquo; period, which is early in the year, is the time when most cruises are booked. In 2010, they will be giving them away, from the sounds of it. Danny Borg, a partner for the discount travel site Undercover Tourist, recommends booking early in 2010, which is when all the sales are likely to happen.</p><p><strong>&bull;Get social.</strong> If you&rsquo;re looking for deals in 2010, it pays to participate in social media, such as Twitter or Facebook.</p><p>&ldquo;Social media has quickly become a new sales and loyalty channel for airlines,&rdquo; says Lufthansa spokeswoman Jennifer Urbaniak. Her airline sees social media as a way to offer special Internet-only discounts on tickets next year, and she expects other airlines to do the same.</p><p><strong>&bull;Go online for deeper discounts. </strong>How much deeper? A lot. I asked Clem Bason, president of Hotwire, and he&rsquo;s looking for &ldquo;sharply discounted deals&rdquo; &mdash; both on the kind of opaque deals his site offers (those are ones where the name of the resort isn&rsquo;t revealed until you book) and vacation packages. Most of the major online agencies have aggressively discounted packages that promise to be even more aggressively discounted in coming months.</p><p>Next time someone tells you to hurry up and book now, ask yourself: Why are they pressuring you to make a purchase this second? What do they have to gain from it?</p><p>Remember, next year will be filled with travel bargains, if these industry-watchers are right.</p><p>And I think they are.