People are booking vacation travel this time of year and Clark would like to warn you about a potential problem before you book. It involves buying vacation packages from companies that subsequently go bust before you take your trip. There is no trip, no money and no one against whom you can file a claim. It happens all the time in the travel business, so what do you do to protect yourself? The first thing to do is to buy your trip on a credit card. If the tour operator goes bust, you will be reimbursed under almost all circumstances. Secondly, get trip insurance. If you fall ill or can’t go for some reason, you get your money back. You don’t buy trip insurance from the company hosting the package because you have no protection if they go bust. In another move to re-instill confidence, a small percentage of travel operators are now having your tour payments go to a bank and into an escrow account. That way, the money doesn’t go to the tour operator until after your have finished your account. It’s called TFPP – Travel Funds Protection Plan. The money goes into the National Bank of Michigan-Illinois, known as NCB, which deposits 100 percent of all payments into an escrow account. It’s a great idea and Clark hopes it works.