Unforgettable Travel Company is betting that the next phase of the Asia travel boom will happen a few train stops past the places everyone has already posted.
The luxury tour operator on Wednesday launched Unforgettable Asia, a dedicated brand with 50 itineraries across 11 destinations: Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Singapore, Malaysia, Borneo, and Indonesia. More destinations are slated for late 2026 and 2027.
The company has sold Asia for several years, and company leaders say inquiries for the region climbed 226% between 2022 and 2025. Travel advisors now account for 54% of its Asia bookings. Graham Carter, chief commercial officer and co-founder of Unforgettable Travel Company, said the new brand responds to a question he keeps hearing from some of its top clientele.
“I think what we’re seeing now, particularly from the Virtuoso-level advisors, is how do we do Asia without the crowds?” Carter told Luxury Travel Advisor.
Japan is where that question is particularly potent. Luke Stapylton-Smith, the company’s head of Asia, said the country remains a massive demand driver.
“I think it’s up to 80% of our inquiries, which is just crazy,” Stapylton-Smith said. “The boom just doesn’t stop.”
The surge has changed the experience on the ground.
“Mass tourism has arrived where it never really was,” he said.
Unforgettable Asia’s answer is to steer travelers toward rural prefectures, where Stapylton-Smith said the quality of ryokans and craft traditions holds up countrywide. Carter said the team lengthened trips and added nights in each stop, so itineraries don’t feel like a box-ticking exercise.
Stapylton-Smith also pointed to South Korea and Taiwan as rising destinations, both in their own right and as alternatives when Japan gets too busy. In Southeast Asia, he sees family travel to Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam growing, along with honeymoons and yachting in Indonesia.
Advisors will find a logistical play in the company’s appeal. Combining Japan with South Korea, or South Korea with Taiwan, typically means juggling a destination management company in each country. Unforgettable Asia handles as many as four destinations in one itinerary, with one contact for the advisor and one for the traveler.
“You call one number from the beginning of the trip right through the end of the trip,” Carter said.
Every booking includes a complimentary concierge service that handles restaurant reservations, spa and wellness appointments, and golf, along with 24/7 assistance in destination. Restaurant guides are tailored to each traveler’s preferences, and the company provides white-label versions for advisors.
“A lot of DMCs are trying to pull away from that, or they’re charging for that because it is a fair amount of work,” Carter said.
Boutique Hotels and River Ships
The hotel mix leans toward independent, experience-led properties and Asia-rooted brands such as Capella, Rosewood, and Mandarin Oriental. On the water, the focus is river and small-ship cruising, including Aqua Expeditions and Mekong River sailings, packaged with pre- and post-cruise touring.
The hotel-branded yachts moving into the region are a different matter. Carter praised the product from Four Seasons and Orient Express but said Unforgettable Asia will mostly support those sailings with land arrangements.
“[What] we find is so many of the advisor community have already got existing relationships with them that we can’t provide any value there,” he said.
Sample itineraries are organized by theme. A 12-night South Korea and Japan wellness journey starts at $11,795 per person and moves from temple cuisine and K-beauty in Seoul to volcanic sand baths in Kagoshima and Okinawa. A nine-night South Korea trip for families with teenagers, from $6,205 per person, includes a private K-pop dance lesson and personal color analysis. Entry pricing among the highlighted itineraries is $4,460 per person for 10 nights of food-focused travel in Malaysia and Thailand.
What’s Next
Mainland China isn’t part of the launch, but Stapylton-Smith said it is “definitely on the cards” for 2027 as international brands invest and luxury hotel options widen.
Asked where advisors should look beyond Thailand and Vietnam, he named Cambodia as a stand-alone trip instead of an Angkor add-on.
“The depth of luxury product and accommodation experience in Cambodia is unreal,” he said.
His other pick with a list of remote island stays.
“I think Indonesia probably would be the one I would push harder,” Stapylton-Smith said.
But for now, with Japan still drawing as much as 80% of inquiries, Unforgettable Asia has 10 other launch destinations to make its case for the rest of the map.
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