Unforgettable Travel is expanding its destination expertise with the introduction of Unforgettable Asia, a new luxury tour operator focused on journeys across the continent. Officially launched today, the brand marks the company’s latest move to build out its portfolio of destination-specific travel experiences, joining Unforgettable Greece and Unforgettable Croatia.
The brand features itineraries designed around different travel styles and interests, including a wellness journey through South Korea and Japan, family trips in Japan and South Korea, culinary-focused trips through Malaysia and Thailand, a 14-night journey from Laos to Cambodia and a 12-night luxury Indonesian honeymoon. Altogether, it offers 50 itineraries across 11 destinations, with more to come in late 2026 and 2027.
Ahead of the launch, Graham Carter, CEO and co-founder of Unforgettable Travel, and Luke Stapylton-Smith, head of Asia for the company, sat down with TravelAge West to discuss what inspired the new brand, what its itineraries will look like and what Unforgettable Asia can offer advisors.
Graham Carter co-founded Unforgettable Travel in 2015.
Credit: 2026 Unforgettable TravelWhy is now the right time for Unforgettable Travel to launch a dedicated Asia brand?
Carter: We've been doing Asia for a while through Unforgettable Travel, and it has grown to represent about 20% of our worldwide revenue. We've seen about a 226% increase in the last three years of the Asia business — it's been exponential growth. What we've done over the last few years is build a really strong Asia team from a trip design perspective, with an operations and concierge team to support that.
We've seen about a 226% increase in the last three years of the Asia business — it's been exponential growth.
We already have specialized travel brands, Unforgettable Croatia and Unforgettable Greece, which act as DMCs [destination management companies] in the regions and are very good at what they do, generating nearly $35 million in turnover between them. We already work with a growing number of Virtuoso and Signature travel advisors who use us for Asia. It's been the right time for us to [expand] given the level of growth we've seen coming in from the advisor business, as well as the team’s [expertise].
Luke Stapylton-Smith has spent most of his life working and traveling across Asia.
Credit: 2026 Unforgettable TravelWhat are some of the itineraries or experiences that Unforgettable Asia will offer?
Stapylton-Smith: It's all about themes, particularly around honeymoons and families. For example, we've got two family itineraries for Japan — one is Japan with teens, and one is Japan with little kids. That's a really strong distinction that no other operator is making. We thought hard about how every minute and every component of that trip would work if you're with a kid who is 5 versus a kid who's 18.
We have a whole [Korean] themed itinerary around K-beauty and K-wellness because that's huge, as well. In a similar vein, we've got a K-pop dance class, we've got a tea ceremony — not just focusing on family, but going one level further and thinking about who exactly this family is and what ages they are.
We try to think hard about slower, more intentional travel and not trying to race around and do as much as possible. Why have four or five stops when you can have two or three and spend an extra night at each destination?
Multi-country is another real strength of ours. We will only select places where we know we can supply a very high quality of accommodation, guides, car service and activities, but we are trying to push people into lesser-known regions as much as possible.
Unforgettable Asia features a 14-night journey from Laos to Siem Reap, Cambodia, with five nights onboard the Boheme on the Mekong River.
Credit: 2026 Simon/Unsplash.comWhat resources will the brand offer to advisors, and how will it help them grow their Asia bookings?
Carter: It's about how we can educate them and support their growth; if they grow then we grow, and it's a symbiotic relationship where both sides are benefiting. We do a lot of Europe business with travel advisors [already], and they know Europe incredibly well — but a lot of clients are looking to do more in Asia, and are not well versed in [those destinations] outside of Tokyo and Kyoto [in Japan]. People just don't know where to go, so they rely heavily on travel advisors to be able to guide them.
What we provide to travel advisors is a team that understands exactly what luxury clients are looking for. We're able to communicate with [advisors] within their own time zones, in their own language, and we understand the complexities of dealing with suppliers in Asia. With us, you have one point of contact. The travel advisor does a call with us or sends a brief and then we build the whole trip for them in a matter of days. Then, we listen to any changes they want to make. You're cutting down on numerous different contact points and then, when the clients travel, even if they're doing two or three different countries, they have one contact number. Overall, it makes the journey more seamless for the clients, but also the travel advisor can feel like their client is in good hands.
Stapylton-Smith: Compared to Europe, it's not just that there's a knowledge gap; there's also still a fear factor. People are concerned about the language barrier, the cultural barrier and what the hotels are like — [we see] that coming from the client and also a little from the advisor community. We're not just selling a trip; there's a whole educational piece that we try to do, as well. We’re increasing awareness that Asia is a great place to go and it's a lot easier than people think, especially when you book through a company like ours, which has English-language support and concierge support, and we've hand-picked all the hotels and experiences for you.
If we can have advisors saying, “We love working with you, our clients had an amazing time, I referred you to three of my best advisor friends and they've got inquiries for you,” that is the No. 1 level of success to me.
