Virginia Beach Meteor ... Or Just Your Casual UFO?

Virginia Beach and North Carolina may have experienced a meteor explosion on Sunday night. Or perhaps Agents Sculley and Mulder were just in the neighborhood -- because despite residents' claims to the police and weather services that something bright exploded in the sky Sunday, the National Weather Service says they have no record of anything meteorlogical.

One motorist who saw the lights while driving east of the Staples Mill Road exit of Interstate 64 described it as similar to “what falls away from big fireworks” but “much bigger” and “from much higher up."

In other words: "Aliens, obviously." But that motorist wasn't the only one:

“It was very, very bright and lasted less than a second,“ said Richmond resident Jay McNamara, who was returning home with his wife on River Road when they saw an object in the southeastern sky. “It was smaller than the moon and a white or yellow color."

"And round, like a flying saucer," McNamara continued. Okay, not really. However, I think there's a pretty good chance that this is going to get run as a UFO sighting, just because, again, the National Weather Service recorded no meteroic activity despite the flurry of e-mails that hit a local news station's inbox.

The point of it all? If you're scared of aliens, avoid the beaches of North Carolina and Virginia in your travels for at least the next few weeks, until things clear up.

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Seychelles Goes the Way of Iceland

Clear blue waters. White-sand beaches. Wealthy vacationers soaking up the sun. Seychelles has all of these things. Unfortunately, this tiny island country off the coast of Africa is also bankrupt.

This playground of the rich and famous is saddled with more than $800 million in debt, taking a page out of Iceland's "How To Destroy a Country's Economy" handbook. With sagging revenues from the country's two biggest source industries -- fishing and tourism -- Seychelles' debt is about the same as the country's total economy.

It's already defaulted on one $230 million loan and is now seeking relief from countries -- including the U.S. -- it owes.

"We borrowed more than we can repay," complains Ralph Volcere, the editor of Le Nouveau Seychelles Weekly and a vocal government critic. "This was wholly irresponsible."

In the hopes of boosting its tourism industry, the country is launching an "Affordable Seychelles" campaign with the motto, "Once-in-a-lifetime vacation at a once-in-a-lifetime price," in the hopes of drawing visitors. Affordable might be overstating it, but there are certainly deals to be had.

FareFinder: Key West Coupon Craze

We're all about the specials and deals here at FareFinder. So imagine my delight when this email from Key West, Florida landed in the Farefinder inbox:

The Florida Keys & Key West tourism council has launched a program designed to enhance visitors' vacations through a wide variety of value-added offers from Keys lodging entities, restaurants, attractions, watersports operators, dive excursions, charter fishing boats and other businesses.

"No doubt, many travel consumers are seeking vacation experiences that maximize their dollar during these unsettled times," said Keys tourism council director Harold Wheeler. "Our 'ValuCation' program makes vacationers aware of Keys incentives during traditionally peak travel periods."

Coupons range from nice ($2 off admission to numerous local attractions, BOGO -- "Buy One, Get One" -- at restaurants and bars) to sweet (discounted room rates at the four-star Sheraton Suites Key West, for one) to cool (one night free accommodations for each day you book a fishing charter). It's not a tremendous boon to the wallet, but at the same time, every dollar counts.

Entire Jamaica Tourist Board Quits

It's not often in today's 24-hour news cycle that a single headline reaches out and grabs your attention. We are so frequently bombarded with stories, blurbs and features that the real gems of the travel industry, and the world for that matter, often slip through the cracks. So, you can imagine my surprise when I saw this title, "Entire Jamaica Tourist Board Quits." I don't know about you, but to me, that sounds like a story worth reading.

Allegedly, the entire board turned in their resignations to Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett because, "A changing landscape demands a new architecture...We need to rebuild and redesign our structure to allow us not only to survive in these times of economic uncertainty but also to prosper and grow." Here's some food for thought... what does it say about the short-term future of international travel when the entire tourism board of the friendliest vacation spot on earth starts looking for new work pre-emptively? International travel's about to get a lot cheaper. And after enduring the upcoming holiday season with your family, a little sun, sand and fruity-umbrella-topped cocktails will be just what the doctor ordered.