On stranger tides - the growth of the expeditions market

A renewed focus on destination has seized the cruise industry, with guests increasingly discerning about where and what they see. Creating an evocative and memorable itinerary, though, is about much more than weaving a path from one desirable location to another.

It's been 50 years since Lars-Eric Lindblad led the first citizen expedition to Antarctica, initiating a new genre of destination-centric travel rooted in environmental education. Trips to destinations such as the Galapagos followed, with the aim of encouraging guests to engage with these precious areas and how to preserve them.

The apple didn't fall far from the tree, it seems, and the adventurer's son, Sven-Olof Lindblad, founded Lindblad Expeditions in 1979. Continuing the legacy of expedition travel with aplomb, it has enjoyed an enviable partnership with National Geographic since 2004.

Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic (LENG) today invites travellers to experience some of the remotest parts of the world (and some of the better known, too) in the company of experts, including naturalists, historians, scientists and photographers.

Reached in his New York office weeks before departing on reconnaissance to Cuba (where the line will deploy a ship from December), the founder and CEO emphasises that the days of discovering new worlds may be past, but a well-researched and flexible itinerary leaves guests with plenty to discover.

"We have a deep understanding of what our audience is seeking," Lindblad says. "They're looking for nature, culture, history, and they want to understand the world better. It's become a very nuanced field in terms of development.

"Nobody's going to discover Alaska; it has been discovered, but how you move within that environment, based on being able to provide people with a relevant experience as it relates to those interests, is what we spent a lot of time focusing on."

This applies as much to the company's more traditional expeditions, with trips to rugged, wildlife-rich settings such as the Arctic, the Amazon and Peru, as it does to its newer model of cultural adventure; for example, touring Europe with an ethnomusicologist.

"It all boils down to that word nuance," Lindblad explains. "Lots and lots of people travel to Europe: the Mediterranean, the west coast, the Baltic and such, but there are so many aspects - music, food, culture, art, contemporary history, political dialogue - and so we wanted to create a highly curated programme."

Raiders of the lost destinations

After months of research by three teams based in Europe, LENG has unveiled 11 new European itineraries for 2016, each with a variety of daily activities for guests to choose from. With the ship acting as a yacht, anchoring in small bays and inner harbours, passengers are offered an intimate experience of each location.

While voyaging into literal new geographies might be out of the question, the opportunity - and sometimes necessity - to explore in the traditional sense of the word is in no way ruled out. As an example, Lindblad recalls a recent and not uncommon scenario that occurred during one of the operator's popular Arctic programmes. Taking guests far north between Greenland and the Canadian Arctic, the trip reaches areas visited by few but explorers.

"This year, we were meant to go up the east coast of Ellesmere Island, but a peculiar circumstance developed with the ice and the wind that then opened up the western side of that island, which had never been visited before because it was always completely icebound," he says. "All of a sudden, we weren't able to do plan A, but plan B opened up to be able to do something completely unique, and it was a remarkable experience."

These serendipitous occasions often have the most interesting results, Lindblad reveals, and popular itineraries have been built around past discoveries of this kind.

For guests, it's an exciting feature of expeditions, but one that rests upon the proficiency of the crew. Being able to provide an interesting itinerary however the ice flows relies upon the groundwork being in place prior to departure. Everything of potential interest along the proposed route (scenery, wildlife, human communities or archaeology, for example) is mapped out by a multidisciplinary team, and a framework is created based upon the conditions as far as reasonably predictable.

Of course, flexibility is also dependent upon ship size. Passenger numbers may have increased over the years (148 on the fleet's largest, the National Geographic Explorer), but the external requirements of the ship restrict any major increase. This is evidenced in the operator's recent announcement of an order for two new builds - its very first - as part of a $439-million merger deal with Capitol Acquisition Corp II. Each vessel will house 100 passengers.

"We want to be able to quickly, efficiently and effectively deploy, and get people out into the wild or wherever it is that we are, and we want to do that without causing undue impact in those areas," Lindblad says. "So there is definitely a ceiling; whether it's 150, 175 or 200 [people] - but it's not much more than that because at a certain point there's a price to be paid in terms of the quality of the experience."

Abandon ship?

For LENG, the ship is very much a means to an end - far from the "ship as destination" concept present in parts of the wider cruise industry. In fact, the operator views itself as largely separate from the industry, identifying more as a safari company.

"We are very much a focused expedition travel enterprise, and we have found over the many, many years that the way for us to do that best is with ships." Lindblad says. "So we're not really motivated by the idea of a cruise per se; for us, ships are a vehicle to allow us to get to often remote and interesting places, where the ravages of tourism haven't taken full force."

At the same time, Lindblad acknowledges that a certain crossover exists, with some guests finding LENG after trying a traditional cruise but not necessarily appreciating the numbers of fellow passengers. Destinations targeted by the wider industry can also sometimes influence customers, Lindblad admits, but the company is not driven by this. Rather than surveying interest and following demand, ships are placed where it feels the best experiences can be crafted.

"Sometimes that coincides with some kind of rising trend, or sometimes we just have to claw our way into building the interest," Lindblad says. "Take a place like Baja California in Mexico. When we first starting operating there in 1981 - and we've been there ever since - hardly anyone knew of the place. A few people in California and Arizona, but that's it. It was absolutely not on anyone's bucket list. But it is one of the most extraordinary places on the planet from a natural history point of view and we just kept articulating that. And, after some time, we basically put it on the map."

Used to adapting to the changing seas, Lindblad also appreciates the need to circumnavigate certain swells within the global political climate. As he looks forward to his exploratory visit to Cuba's southern coast to seek out the best 'off-grid' opportunities, he reflects upon another region he would explore further, demand permitting.

"We're always looking at the possibilities in South America," he reveals, "because it's a very interesting continent, but for reasons I think I understand but don't agree with, the interest is not as strong there as I believe it should be."

Over and above specific geographies, the operator's focus is naturally guests' enjoyment. Lindblad cites recent scientific and media interest within a growing 'psychographic phenomenon' whereby experiences are perceived as more valuable than possessions.

"Clearly if you buy a thing, you get a period of joy out of that and then it essentially disappears in most instances, but really interesting experiences that touch your emotional core and give you a sense of adventure and broader understanding - that lasts forever," he says. "I think there's a real craving for that."

Mission statement

Experience is also at the centre of the company's mission to positively impact the locations it visits. Alongside investing millions of dollars in conservation projects such as Pristine Seas (an initiative to protect important areas of the ocean), it also places an emphasis upon engaging guests in these endeavours. While his passion for preservation is evident, Lindblad also makes a clear strategic case for doing so.

"The reality is that we in our industry rely on healthy assets for our business, and so we believe that you should invest in the health of the places and the communities that you travel to," he says. "I view that as a smart business idea; people aren't going to want to travel to a degraded place.

"At the same time, there is kind of a moral component as it relates to the world and what's going on, and when people have had a positive experience, their hearts and their wallets tend to be more open to wanting to be a part of that investment strategy."

As the interview comes to a close, Lindblad is keen to remind the wider travel industry to be mindful of this capacity to benefit the areas it visits.

"I'm not trying to criticise anybody," he emphasises, "I'm just saying it's an opportunity. We only have one planet; we should take care of it."