In 25 years, travel has changed – but the way Simon Calder covers it has not

Since May 1994, our travel correspondent has championed the modern traveller and the issues that truly matter to consumers

Every now and again, there are things to celebrate in the travel industry. That the world is a safer and more connected place than ever before; that opportunities to travel keep expanding (I’m writing this in Charleston, South Carolina, now reachable on a direct flight from Heathrow); and that some travel expertise never goes out of fashion.

Speaking of which, our travel correspondent, Simon Calder, is celebrating 25 year at The Independent this week.

To mark the occasion, we’ve put together a whole host of stories for his quarter-century anniversary. Simon looks back at his best and worst trips over the years (climbing a mountain in Argentina with, er, extra baggage), best hitch-hikes (including from “somewhere on the Schwarzwaldhochstrasse in the Black Forest to Achern, Germany”) and best and worst places to stay (“‘No,’ said the family, even though we had paid in advance” for a hotel in Newfoundland).