The relationship between National Geographic and Lindblad steeped in shared interest in technology, conservation, exploration and research, including co-marketing, co-selling and branding arrangements which run through 2025.
Via the addition of Latin America and Canada markets to the existing agreement covering Australia, New Zealand and the United States, National Geographic and Lindblad have further deepened their strategic partnership and will invest to further accelerate growth in these major geographies.
The United States has long been primary source market for Lindblad. With the accelerating demand for immersive and authentic experiential travel, the company expects significant domestic growth.
At the same time, a lot of the trends powering the increase in expedition travel in the US are manifesting themselves globally, and deepening expansion in select international markets is core part of the growth strategy of Lindblad.
The expanded collaboration with NatGeo provides an opportunity for both parties to leverage the strong position National Geographic holds in key Latin American markets and Canada, while at the same time building on Lindblad’s leadership position in the US expedition travel market.
Recently, Lindblad’s Board of Directors approved the build of additional blue water ship to explore the world’s most remote locations. The vessel, which is due to be delivered in 2021, will be the next step in the fleet expansion of the company, following the launch of National Geographic Quest (July 2017), the addition of National Geographic Venture (December 2018) and the delivery of National Geographic Endurance (the first quarter of 2020).