Economic collapse, a continued worsening of the American image abroad, airlines foundering, gas and ticket prices soaring — 2008 was, let’s face it, a crappy year for travelers. The airline and airport experience continued to deteriorate, and the Travel Security Administration did little to alleviate our fears. Actually, the TSA often did more to ramp up the discomfort, as ably catalogued in this post from Gadling.

And yet, there will be a bright side to all this, I think. As a nation, we’ve reached a point where we’ll have to deal with our demons and with each other to get through to the other side; with luck, we’ll come out stronger, more thoughtful and more purpose-driven for it.

With an eye toward how the travel world might be remade for the better, here are my wishes for 2009.

— A return to longer vacations: The Slow Travel movement has a lot to recommend it, beginning with lower costs, but perhaps more importantly, a much smaller carbon footprint and a much less harmful way to participate in global tourism. Lots of fast, short trips result in a cascade of negative side effects. First off, there’s the fuel use, cost and pollution. Secondly, there is the unintended impact on local culture. Anyone who has visited a seaside town before and after it became a cruise port will know what I mean. Thousands of visitors who spend only a few hours or a day in a place result in a terrible skewing of the local economy and labor toward souvenir shacks, ice cream parlors and bars. It can ruin the place for the people who live there (and, incidentally, the tourists who caused the upheaval).

— A curbing of industrial tourism: As an appendix to the above, it’s much cheaper to rent a room in a locally owned hotel, inn or home, than it is to book an all-inclusive where you’ll be cosseted with thousands of other Minnesotans, Wisconsinites and Canadians fleeing winter. And you’re helping the local economy. Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean are paying a terrible cost for our banking and mortgage woes. (As a Bolivian man explained to me once, “When America sneezes, we catch a cold.”

— People power: Get off the gas and onto your feet (or bike or canoe). A hike in a state park is good for your soul, good for your body, and easy on your checkbook.

— Mass transit: This crisis may help Megabus and services like it establish a stronger niche, again saving energy and money. Why isn’t there good bus service to the North Shore, and then back and forth along it? I know the answer; because until now it’s been cheap enough to drive there. That may change. Don’t let this $1.50 gas fool you. It will be back in $5 territory soon enough.

— A passenger bill of rights: New Congress, new ideas. Let’s have rules for carry-ons, for disembarking delayed planes and some common-sense rules for re-ticketing and refunds. As Americans rethink how they travel, the airlines should have some consistent guidelines for civilized and safe flying.

— Protection for the federal lands surrounding National Parks. The Bush Administration rule changes during this “midnight regulation” period are essentially a series of giveaways to favored industries (oil, natural gas and mining). There is no need for a mine anywhere near the Grand Canyon, nor drilling near Arches National Park in Utah.

That’s a handful of the hopes I have for the New Year. What are yours?

A national Travelzoo.com survey reports that 80 percent of Americans believe the era of affordable travel is over. The same survey indicated a level of desperation that was a little disturbing. 41 percent of the respondents said they’d give up access to a bathroom on flights to get a 50 percent fare reduction. 28 percent would forgo a seat for the same deal (they’d stand up, in other words).

This comes amidst the latest news of more tack-on fees, advertising on boarding passes, etc. The airlines are failing: No doubt about it. So one way or another, the costs affiliated with flying (and driving) will rise.

Is the era of affordable travel over? Not yet, I would argue. But as a nation we’ve missed opportunities to prepare for this seismic shift in the consumer landscape, even as we watched gas prices tick upward year after year.

I interviewed George Hobica, founder of Airfarewatchdog.com earlier this week (the full interview will be posted Saturday and in the paper Sunday). He also paints a grim picture of the traveling future, but maintains that cheap deals can still be had if, above all else, travelers embrace flexibility. “I’m not the kind of traveler who says, ‘I’ve got to go to London this particular week.’” Hobica said. “I look at the fares over time and say, ‘That’s the week I’m going to London.’”

For parents trapped by their kids’ schedules, that’s not an easy dictum to embrace. But for travelers with less fixed commitments, it presents a ray of hope, at least in the short term. Rising fuel costs and decreasing capacity are already making those rare cheap fares even harder to find.

In general, I think the way Americans travel will change, and quickly. Maybe the trend of more frequent, shorter vacations will finally abate in favor of a return to the one- or two-week vacation. That compresses the expenses of airfare while expanding the opportunity to spend time with family or really immerse oneself in a travel experience. Even before fuel prices provided a spur, many travelers were already thinking that way by embracing slow travel (a topic I addressed in this story from April).

Do you think the age of affordable travel is over? What changes are you going to make, if any?

U.S. Highway 101 near Gold Beach, Oregon: My vote for prettiest highway in the country.

I grew up with family road trips. Summer vacations with a car, camping gear and a cooler are still part of every summer for me. I just got back from a 1,300 mile road trip through Iowa and Nebraska, taking my 7-year-old nephew on his first road/camping trip. We did an overnight canoe trip on the Root River (this was last Monday, before all the flooding started), we camped at Black Hawk Lake State Park in Iowa. We hiked in the Loess Hills at Preparation Valley (a stunning setting, for those who think Iowa is all cornfields). I had a great time introducing him to the wonders of the road. But I wonder if that is a tradition I’ll be able to maintain. Or even one that I should maintain, considering the costs.

All signs point toward a future of expensive gasoline; It will take years to retool Americans’ auto choices; for the next couple of years, people will be using their SUVs and big pickups (and big station wagons — my choice) as a way to send their savings to Saudi Arabia and other oil producing countries. My Volkswagen with a V6 burns a gallon of fuel every 18 miles in town and 23 on the highway.

I went through 59 gallons of gas and spent about 230 bucks. That was averaging $3.85 a gallon. I’m assuming that $5 a gallon is a distinct possibility by July.

Is this the beginning of the end for a great American tradition? Is the road trip dying?