Simon Calder at 25: The most impressive travel enablers

The Independent’s travel correspondent, Simon Calder, looks back on 25 years of travel

Over the past two-and-a-half decades I have met many impressive men and women who have helped to give the UK the best travel industry in the world.

Among them are 25 “travel heroes” whose expertise and energy have improved life for travellers. In the fourth of a five-part series, here are the most inspiring enablers.

Each has provided a travel tip and a happiest travel memory.

Charlie Hopkinson, director at Dragoman​

How’s this for landing a great job in travel? Aged 23, Charlie travelled as a passenger on a Dragoman overland adventure trip from Cairo to Johannesburg, via Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi, Botswana and South Africa. He returned north along the same route as co-driver. After leading trips in Africa, Central Asia and India, he worked his way up to become managing director of Dragoman. “We aim to get off the beaten track and really under the skin of the places we visit, taking the road less travelled, mixing with the locals, learning about their culture, and most importantly having an open mind,” he says.

Charlie Hopkinson in Bagan, Myanmar (Charlie Hopkinson)

Travel tip: “Fail to prepare, then prepare to fail. Cliche, yes indeed, but for travel it is so true and never more so than when travelling off the beaten track. This applies to all aspects of preparation, but most of all for your equipment and especially for your health and wellbeing. I take a great deal of effort to ensure that I have a decent medical kit that suits the climate, destination and the activities that I will embark on while travelling. There is nothing that spoils the experience of travel more than sickness.”

Happiest travel memory: “Being joined by my girlfriend, Karen (and wife-to-be), in Jordan in July 1986, while leading a 16-week Dragoman trip from Kathmandu to London. We left Kathmandu in April and travelled through northern India and Kashmir, across Pakistan during Ramadan, into Iran and then into Turkey. By late May we arrived in eastern Turkey, where the meadows and mountains were awash with the vibrant colours of wild flowers. We ate honey and yoghurt every morning while sipping strong Turkish coffee at small locantas, travelled through the lands of the Kurds from Lake Van, via Diyarbakır and on into Syria.

“Entering Syria is never straight forward and we spent 48 hours getting into the country, so by the time we arrived in Jordan we were well behind schedule. Karen duly arrived at Amman airport to be met by me, and I was still far north in Jerash.

“We had no mobiles and no means of contacting her, and so I left the group and my co-driver to hitchhike to Amman international airport. Had anyone seen a blonde lady? Yes, they had seen an angry blonde English lady yesterday and I should ask the airport manager. I did and my happiest travel moment is arriving at his house and finding my girlfriend being bathed by a maid, having been rescued by a hugely generous-spirited manager who had taken Karen back to his home for the night. The next three weeks back through Jordan, Syria and Turkey were bliss…”

Ramsay Kerr, founder and director of The Dragon Trip

Ramsay Kerr (Ramsay Kerr)

China is set to become the biggest outbound and inbound tourist market in the world, yet the People’s Republic still appears to be a formidable challenge for western travellers. Handily, Ramsay has trekked and travelled around Asia since he was young, growing up in China as well as Singapore and the UK. He now works in Shanghai, devising ways to help travellers understand and enjoy the world’s most populous nation.

Travel tips: “Always board a flight last and look to see if the back row is empty – if so, grab it and enjoy three seats to yourself. When packing, place T-shirts, shorts, dirty laundry and others into four separate small bags in your luggage in order to make unpacking much easier. C-trip, China’s largest online travel agent, now has a convenient English website called trip.com, which often has better rates for European hotels than the more famous accommodation booking websites. Don’t over plan it. And forget the backpack – a large duffel bag is much more practical.”

Happiest travel memory: “Last year I went to Kesennuma in northeast Japan, a town destroyed by the 2011 Tohoku tsunami. I had planned to go there on a Tuesday, but our partners there were expecting me on the Monday, something I discovered midway through a business meeting in Tokyo! I had to run straight from my meeting to catch a bullet train to Kesennuma, with all my outdoor clothes left in my Tokyo hotel room. I arrived in Kesennuma still in a shirt and tie to meet Nishant, a young American committed to promoting the town to foreign tourists, something badly needed after the local economy was crippled by the tsunami.

“Nishant had become a local legend in the small Japanese community, and we spent a week building tour itineraries, getting to know local people and having a blast. Working alongside Nishant and the town’s people reminded me of the magic of travel and the wonderful people you can meet on your journey. Visiting the town’s port at 5am to see the fish auction, wearing a suit, although chilly, did mean I was anything but underdressed for the occasion!”

Jo Rzymowska, MD of Celebrity Cruises UK, Ireland and Asia

Jo with her partner Lynne (Jo Rzymowska)

In 1994, Airtours was a mass-market tour operator (it has since become part of Thomas Cook). The firm set up a subsidiary, Sun Cruises, which offered a week in the Mediterranean for under £500 – halving the “entry level” for cruising, and triggering the relentless expansion of the market. Other cruise lines, such as Celebrity, brought in fresh talent – and Jo has become one of the UK’s leading lights of cruising. She has also championed LGBT+ rights in the travel industry.

Travel tip: “Find out as much about a destination as you can before you travel. Review websites are great, but getting a couple of different guide books before you travel and taking some time ahead of your holiday to read through them – they’re usually written by people with local knowledge with a passion for an authentic destination experience – will unlock a world of exciting and often quirky things to do. Learn from the experts too – destination reviews in newspapers and magazines are a great start, travel agents have a wealth of knowledge, and travel channels on sites like YouTube are a great resource for helping to understand the culture and customs of a destination before you visit.”

Happiest travel memory: “My happiest place is Mallorca. It is where I worked as an overseas representative many years ago and it is where Lynne and I had our civil partnership and holds a special place in my heart.

“My happiest travel memory was discovering Cambodia on a Mekong river cruise. There is a beauty in seeing a destination from the water that is almost therapeutic. It truly is an experience that hits all the senses – it has to be experienced to be believed – the smells, sights, sounds, tastes and most of all the incredible people who, despite having suffered so much at the hands of the tyrant Pol Pot, are so welcoming and hospitable. By far the most memorable aspect of the trip was getting to share the experience with great friends and discovering the country together.”

Ash Sofat, chief executive of Somak Holidays

Ash Sofat (Ash Sofat)

I first bought a ticket from Ash in 1993 – a return on British Airways from Heathrow via Nairobi to Entebbe, price £455. (At the time it was an absolute bargain, though these days Egyptair will get you there for a pound less, via Cairo.) Somak had just celebrated its 25th anniversary, and last year marked the half century. Ash has taken over from his father, Suresh, and now helps 30,000 people a year make the most of their time in Africa.

Travel tip: “Always use a specialist travel company to organise and book your itinerary to a complicated touring destination such as Africa. You will almost certainly have an itinerary that is logistically flawless and hence trouble free.”

Happiest travel memory: “I love cricket and had always dreamt of watching West Indies play at home in Bridgetown, Barbados. So, 28 years ago in April 1991, I chose to go to Barbados for our honeymoon. The destination was going to be a surprise to my wife and I certainly didn’t break the cricket ‘news’ to her until a couple of days before the start of the match. My wife is from Mumbai and I knew that she understood and enjoyed cricket, but I wasn’t sure that she’d appreciate being taken to a cricket match on her honeymoon! After the initial shock of being shown tickets for the test match, she fortunately came round to the idea and we were both excited for the game, much to my relief. The quality of cricket was, as we expected, truly outstanding but the passion, energy and zest of the West Indian fans was nothing like we had experienced before. It was simply a five-day party with steel bands, free-flowing drinks, loads of food and much more! On top of this, we were even allowed to join in on the fun! It actually turned out to be the highlight of our honeymoon. I know it sounds corny to say honeymoons are special but this trip was truly unique and very memorable.”

Mark Tanzer, chief executive of Abta, the Travel Association

Mark Tanzer of Abta (Mark Tanzer)

In an industry where acronyms are strewn like confetti (IATA, Atol, Aito, WTAF…), Abta is the most recognisable. Travel businesses that belong to Abta must adhere to a code of conduct that demands the highest professional standards, as policed by its formidable chief executive since 2005. The organisation is no longer the Association of British Travel Agents – in 2008 it became Abta, the Travel Association, to reflect the broadening activities of its members.

While “peak Abta” was in 1989, when the organisation had 3,327 member companies compared with 1,200 today, the role of Abta has never been more important.

Travel tip: “If you want to bring something back, take something with you. A little background reading before you go makes a travel experience much richer and more memorable.”

Happiest travel memory: “The year I spent living and working in northern Italy after school was the most memorable. A famous traveller and explorer, Wilfred Thesiger, said that if you really want to get to know a place, go there and stay there. A love of Italy – its culture, its food and its people – stays with me to this day.”