One of the biggest worries for people when booking a holiday is the prospect of their chosen holiday or airline company going bust.

In the last decade there has been a surge of cheap holiday companies and budget airlines falling foul of the troubled economic clime.

One of the main areas to consider when booking a holiday or flight is to ask the right questions and to make the correct decisions at the time of booking.

Standard travel insurance does not always cover these eventualities, so you need to know just what type of cover you will need if this was to happen.

First and foremost make sure that the holiday company you are booking with is ATOL protected.( Air Travel Organisers Licensing www.caa.co.uk ) and a member of ABTA ( Association of British Travel Agents www.abta.com/home).

In the eventuality of your holiday company going bust, ATOL will make sure that you are given another holiday of equal standing to the one you have booked if your company of choice goes bust before you travel or help you to continue your holiday in another hotel with another company, if your company of choice goes bust whilst you are actually on holiday.

If you have paid for your holiday by credit card you are automatically covered by the Consumer Credit Act for any costs of £100 or more.

Again, this will help in getting you a refund if the company goes bust before you travel.

If you are an independent traveller who has paid for flight only remember to take out a SAFi insurance ( Scheduled Airline Failure Insurance), this will ensure that you are refunded if the airline goes bust before your holiday, and will ensure you get home if you are actually on your holiday.

If you are aboard a cruise ship and the shipping company goes bust, if you have booked through a reputable ATOL protected agent, you will be offered another cruise of equal standing to the one you have booked, or be given the chance to fly home immediately.

If your insurance company goes bust, you are automatically covered by the financial services compensation scheme ( FSCS ).

This is a pool of money provided by several financial institutes to compensate travellers in the event of their holiday insurance company going bust,or not being in a position to pay out if a customer makes a claim.

Of course this advice is only the tip of the iceberg in these instances.Nothing of course will compensate you for a ruined holiday or the inconvienience and stress of changing companies if your holiday company fails whilst you are away.

This only reiterates the need to make sure you book holidays and flights with reputable companies in the first instance and to always buy good travel insurance.

It's very tempting to choose a holiday that is several hundred pounds cheaper than any of it's rivals, but as with most things, you get what you pay for, and a lot of cheap companies are cheap simply becouse they use cheap airlines and cheap hotels.

Dont expect to pay £100 for a holiday and receive five star treatment in return.

When booking holidays, shop around, try travel agents, online travel websites and comparison websites.

 Take a look at some of the websites that encourage ordinary travellers to write about their holiday or travel experiences such as www.tripadvisor.com or www.lonelyplanet.com/uk  .

  They are an invaluable source of information from customers and users who have actually travelled with various airlines and holiday companies.

Remember also to read up about the area you are going to,you may like the look of a place but will it cater to the other needs of your holiday?

All these things need to be taken into account before booking any holiday, particularly if you or one of your travelling companions has special needs such as wheel chair access,dietary or child / baby facilities.

 For more invaluable travel advice visit   knoji.com/how-to-get-a-free-holiday/

                                                                       knoji.com/what-consular-services-you-are-entitled-to-when-abroad/ 

                                                                       knoji.com/flight-delays-coping-with-the-ordeal-of-travel-delays/ 

                                                                                               © D.B.Bellamy. April 2010.