This Fieldstory is a special one because it’s the first time I’ve met a contributor in person. I sat down with Luke Mitchell in Sydney, and from the moment we sat down, Luke’s energy and love for what he does were palpable.
He’s spent two decades in the industry guiding, running operations, and now shaping product and operations at Unbound Travel Group and at every step, his focus has been on delivering an exceptional customer experience.
What really stood out was the great lengths Luke goes to in ensuring guests have an incredible experience. For example, the moment he checks into a hotel on a research trip, he takes photos of everything: the lobby, the room, the restaurant, even the tea and coffee setup, because he knows every small detail shapes the guest experience.
If you want to see what it really takes to design tours that delight travellers and keep them coming back, Luke’s story is full of lessons and inspiration.
You’ve had a career spanning 20 years including working at Contiki and AAT Kings and now Unbound Travel Group. You’ve started as a guide, moved into operations and now product. Tell me how it all started.
I started out as a tour leader, taking American students around Australia.
One of my early memories that still makes me laugh was when some of the students brought water purification tablets because they weren’t sure they could drink the tap water! That opened my mind to the idea that I’d love for people to see a place isn’t always what they perceive it to be. After that, I went on to guide with Contiki, and then led trips in China with an English adventure company.
During that part of my career I was saying yes to whatever was offered. I did things I’d never imagined myself doing (or wanting to do), like horse riding through the Himalayas and safaris in Africa. I often would get to a place and think to myself “why did I say yes to this?”.
But I loved it. You have to love it to be a guide for that long. And it gave me a massive range of tours and experience to draw from. I’ve done everything from adventure camping right up to ultra luxury five star tours. I’ve also done youth touring and guiding older adults too.
You’re now a product manager. What exactly does a product manager do?
Everyone runs their companies a bit differently but in general, operations run the tours and products create the tours. Product will also manage the relationships with the suppliers or DMCs. In one role, I had 230 contracts to manage, from hotels to restaurants.
The transition from guide to product is not one I see that often. Was that a deliberate move?
It wasn’t to start with, but then it became deliberate.
I think moving from tour manager into operations is a pretty natural progression, because you already know how everything works. When you’re on the road, you’re basically doing operations anyway, making sure everything runs right. So from there, most people end up in operations.
Most of the product managers I know started out as tour managers too. It’s because you’ve already got the supplier relationships, you know how to negotiate, you know how the tour is going to be executed. Importantly, you know what people expect.
From my own experience, after working with so many groups, I know what guests like, what they don’t, and how group dynamics shift during a tour. I know what makes a good tour. I think that kind of understanding really translates into being a good product manager.
Here’s the million dollar question: what makes a good tour?
Let me talk to you about Debbie from Wagga Wagga.
She’s my fictional reference point (no offence to any Debbies out there)! I use “Debbie” as the everyday Australian traveller. She’s mature but not retired. More than likely works in a service industry, maybe owns her own hair salon or a high school teacher. She enjoys being around people so likes the idea of group touring. Essentially she’s a mix of many people I’ve met running tours.
I think you need an “every person” when designing a tour, someone you can mentally build the tour around and design the experience for. For me, that’s Debbie. So every time I’m building a trip, I ask: Would Debbie be happy she paid for this? Would she enjoy it? Would she be too tired by the end of the day?
I think you need an “every person” when designing a tour, someone you can mentally build the tour around and design the experience for.
What’s your approach to designing an experience for Debbie?
So when I’m designing a tour, I’m thinking about how Debbie wants to experience that country. Debbie wants to feel a real connection, and come home with great stories and photos. But Debbie doesn’t want to come back to the hotel totally exhausted at the end of every day. And she definitely doesn’t want to be following a flag down the street.
Debbie also has certain concepts in her head about what a place is like, and the famous things she has to see, so the tour has to align with that in order to make it bookable. You also need to know what’s trending at the moment. Otherwise the tour won’t sell. It’s about finding the right balance between fulfilling the concepts of the destination that are in her head, and adding in those unique touches that make the product special.
It’s one thing to create an itinerary and another thing to experience it. How do you test the itinerary?
You have to experience it yourself. Before I go on a trip, I usually have a rough itinerary in my head—how I think the tour should flow. But when I’m on the ground, I always find things that need to be moved or changed. Sometimes I spot something better and think, “Can we do that instead?”
It’s not enough to just visit a hotel; you need to stay in it. The first thing I do after I put my bags down at a hotel is immediately take photos of everything: the lobby, the restaurant, the pool, the room, even the tea and coffee setup. It’s the same with experiences or day tours. While I’m doing them, I’m constantly evaluating: will our guests actually enjoy this? Why is this part of the tour? Is there something better?
It might feel like I get to holiday on the job, but I’m actually intensely working for those two or three weeks. I’m evaluating everything I see, constantly reflecting on how it all fits together and whether it delivers the kind of experience that “Debbie” expects.
Tell me more about The Unbound Travel Group. What are the types of tours you offer?
Our core product started with tailor-made tours to India, then naturally that expanded into Sri Lanka. After COVID, we moved into small group touring through Remarkable East, and most recently we launched Asia Unbound to offer tailor-made FIT travel across other parts of Asia. That’s how the Unbound Travel Group came together. We now have three FIT brands: India Unbound, Sri Lanka Unbound, and Asia Unbound, alongside Remarkable East, which focuses on our small group series.
You work a lot with DMCs. How do you ensure they deliver an experience the way you intend it to be delivered?
I do a lot of my own research and know the destinations well. I can’t just rely on the itineraries DMCs send through. Some will churn out the same generic tours for anyone who asks. You need to find DMCs that are truly on brand, that specialise in experiential travel, and actually create their own product, they’re not just subcontracting it out. You can tell pretty quickly who’s put real thought into it if you’ve done your own research.
You want to find a DMC that reflects your brand. It’s a partnership, and not something you want to keep changing—especially when tours are booked years in advance. I spend a lot of time making sure DMCs are delivering the experience to the level we expect. And if that means flying over and training the guides myself to get them on brand, then I’ll do that too.
For me, being “on brand” means delivering a consistent experience every time.
You talk a lot about being “on brand”. What does that mean to you?
For me, being “on brand” means delivering a consistent experience every time.
When a traveller books with us, they have a certain expectation and idea of what they’re buying. That’s even more true for return guests. At Unbound Travel Group, many of our travellers have been with us before. So they come with expectations on the type of tours we offer. The experience we need to provide them needs to feel familiar, whether they’re in India, Sri Lanka, or Japan. If it feels too different, it just doesn’t land.
Speaking from my own experience, I love doing tours when I travel, and there are a few companies I always book with. I book with them because they’re consistent no matter what destination I’m in. The guides know the product, and I know what I’m going to get. That kind of consistency keeps me coming back.
Final question. Have there been any big lessons or turning points in your career?
I have to remind myself to appreciate what I get to do in travel. Even on a rough day, I remind myself that this year alone I’ve been to India twice, plus Sri Lanka, Japan, and Taiwan. Who gets to do that? You have to stop sometimes and realise how lucky you are.
Travel can be intense, especially when you’re working. It’s not a holiday as I mentioned. It’s one-night stays, nonstop movement, constant evaluation. But I’d still rather be doing that in Sri Lanka than in Sydney!
Travel can be intense, but even on a rough day I remind myself I’ve got a job I love.
It’s easy to get caught up in the chaos, but every now and then you’ve got to stop and smell the roses and remember I have a job I love.
That’s a great note to end on. Luke, if someone wants to connect with you, what’s the best way to reach you?
The easiest way is to find me on LinkedIn. I’m always happy to chat.
