Lindblad Expeditions Holdings has expanded its agreement with National Geographic Partners to include all of the Americas.
The relationship between Lindblad and National Geographic, founded in 2004 with a shared interest in exploration, research, technology and conservation, includes co-selling, co-marketing and branding arrangements that run through 2025.
With the addition of the Canada and Latin America markets to the existing agreement covering the US, Australia and New Zealand, Lindblad and National Geographic have further expanded their long-term strategic partnership and will collectively invest to further accelerate growth in these important areas, Lindblad said.
The US has long been the primary source market for Lindblad, and with the rapidly accelerating demand for authentic and immersive experiential travel, the company expects significant domestic growth for years to come.
Given the accelerating demand for high quality and authentic expedition travel and the expanded agreement with National Geographic, Lindblad’s Board recently approved the building of an additional blue water vessel.
This vessel, which is anticipated to be delivered in 2021, will be the next step in the company’s fleet expansion following the launch of the ‘National Geographic Quest’ in July, 2017, the addition of the ‘National Geographic Venture’ to the fleet in December, 2018 and the delivery of the ‘National Geographic Endurance’ in the first quarter of 2020.
Sven-Olof Lindblad, President and CEO, said, “Lindblad has been a pioneer in expedition travel for 50 years. By extending our successful partnership with National Geographic, energising new markets and expanding our fleet, we are taking the next steps in our long-term growth strategy. Our experience and track record in delivering unparalleled experiences in the world’s most amazing locations ideally positions us to capitalise on the explosive growth in high quality adventure travel.”
“National Geographic and Lindblad Expeditions have, over the past 14 years, found an extraordinary level of common cause. This manifests itself in knowing the importance of people exploring the world, building understanding and becoming more knowledgeable and energised citizens,” said Gary Knell, National Geographic Partners CEO. “Our collaboration goes far beyond business, into education, conservation and storytelling through expedition travel. We know collectively that our partnership’s goal is to consistently grow the number of people who explore our world and that’s why we’re so excited to expand our partnership to include the Canadian and Latin American markets.”
