Adventure Travel Acquisition Further Broadens
Lindblad's Footprint, Diversifies High-Quality Experiential Travel
Offerings and Expands its Loyal Consumer Base
NEW
YORK, April 30, 2024 /PRNewswire/
-- Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: LIND;
the "Company" or "Lindblad Expeditions"), recognized global leader
and a pioneer in the expedition cruises and adventure travel
industry, today announced that it has acquired award-winning
adventure travel group Wineland-Thomson Adventures, Inc.
("Wineland-Thomson") through its subsidiary Natural Habitat,
Inc. ("Natural Habitat Adventures"), a leader in responsible
nature-based adventure travel.
Wineland-Thomson consists of several established and respected
adventure travel offerings, including Tanzania safari specialist Thomson
Safaris, which has been operating for over 40 years and focuses
on leading socially responsible and positively impactful
light-treading safari tours. Today, the brand's name has earned its
place as one of the top safari outfitters in the world, being
recognized with consecutive accolades from trusted publications,
like Condé Nast Traveler Best Travel Specialists in the
World and Travel + Leisure World's Best Awards. The
acquisition also includes the historic, award-winning Gibb's
Farm lodge, considered one of the top lodges in East Africa.
"With the addition of Wineland-Thomson and its esteemed
Tanzania-based travel offerings,
and world-class team members, we are not only expanding our
footprint, but also creating more opportunities to inspire,
educate, and preserve the wonders of our natural world, ensuring
future generations can continue to be enriched by these remarkable
adventures. Judi Wineland and
Rick Thomson are well-respected
pioneers of the adventure travel industry, and we are honored to be
the stewards of their brands going into the future," said
Sven-Olof Lindblad, Founder, CEO and
Board Director of Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. "We remain
committed to expanding and enriching our adventure travel
offerings, actively seeking opportunities for both strategic
acquisitions and organic growth, with the goal of attracting a
wider audience and enhancing the lifetime value of our loyal
guests."
Like the Company's past acquisitions, Wineland-Thomson
operations will continue as stand-alone offerings and Lindblad
Expeditions—along with Natural Habitat Adventures—will use its
experience and resources to further accelerate the growth of the
Wineland-Thomson offerings and capitalize on the growing demand for
authentic and immersive adventure travel and safaris.
"The strategic acquisition of Wineland-Thomson will allow us to
further expand our land offerings in and around East Africa, and with the addition of the
Thomson Safaris brand, which has been a highly regarded leader in
the safari sector for decades, we will tap into the growth
potential of small-group safaris in the beautiful Great Plains of
Tanzania and beyond," added
Ben Bressler, Founder and President
of Natural Habitat Adventures. "Since joining the Lindblad
Expeditions family in 2016, Natural Habitat Adventures has
continued to experience exceptional growth. Now, we are excited to
welcome the incredibly talented Wineland-Thomson team members, plus
past, present and future guests into our family."
Judi Wineland, co-founder of
Wineland-Thomson, continued, "Rick and I have spent more than 40
years building a set of companies we can be truly proud of, so when
it came to passing the baton, we had extremely high expectations.
We knew we wanted our legacy to be honored and our values to be
upheld. We knew it had to be a company that believed tourism must
be an instrument for good, benefiting local communities, preserving
the land and wildlife, and bringing guests closer to the natural
world. We found the perfect match in Lindblad Expeditions and
Natural Habitat. We are excited to see our companies reach
even greater heights under their careful and caring
stewardship."
To learn more about Lindblad Expeditions and its growing
portfolio of adventure travel companies, visit
www.investors.expeditions.com.
About Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc.:
Lindblad Expeditions Holdings, Inc. is an expedition travel company
that focuses on ship-based voyages through its Lindblad Expeditions
brand and land-based travel through its subsidiaries, Natural
Habitat, Inc. ("Natural Habitat"), Off the Beaten Path LLC ("Off
the Beaten Path"), DuVine Cycling + Adventure Co. ("DuVine") and
Classic Journeys, LLC ("Classic Journeys").
Lindblad works in partnership with National Geographic to
inspire people to explore and care about the planet. The
organizations work in tandem to produce innovative marine
expedition programs and promote conservation and sustainable
tourism around the world. The partnership's educationally oriented
voyages allow guests to interact with and learn from leading
scientists, naturalists and researchers while discovering stunning
natural environments, above and below the sea, through
state-of-the-art exploration tools.
Natural Habitat partners with the World Wildlife Fund to offer
and promote conservation and sustainable travel that directly
protects nature. Natural Habitat's adventures include polar bear
tours in Churchill, Canada,
Alaskan grizzly bear adventures and African safaris.
Classic Journeys is a luxury cultural walking tour company that
operates a portfolio of curated tours centered around cinematic
walks led by expert local guides. Classic Journeys offers active
small-group and private custom journeys in over 50 countries around
the world.
DuVine designs and leads luxury bike tours in the world's most
amazing destinations, from Italy's
sun-bleached villages and the medieval towns of Provence to
Portugal's Douro Valley and the
vineyards of Napa, California.
Guests bike, eat, drink, and sleep their way through these
regions and many more while sampling the finest cuisine, hotels and
wine.
Off the Beaten Path is an outdoor, active travel company
offering guided small group adventures and private custom journeys
that connect travelers with the wild nature and authentic culture
of their destinations. Off the Beaten Path's trips extend across
the globe, with a focus on exceptional national park experiences in
the Rocky Mountains, Desert Southwest and Alaska.
About Wineland-Thomson Adventures, Inc.:
Founded in 1981, Wineland Thomson Adventures (WTA) is the oldest
U.S.-based tour operator specializing in Tanzanian adventure
travel. Built on a commitment to giving back to Tanzania, WTA is a proud partner of the
African Wildlife Foundation and WTA's sister nonprofit
organization, Focus on Tanzanian Communities. Its
award-winning affiliates include Nature Discovery, a Mt.
Kilimanjaro trekking operator, and Gibb's Farm, a luxury lodge in
the Ngorongoro Highlands. For inquiries, please reach out
during business hours at info@thomsonsafaris.com or 800-235-0289.
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adventures and offerings.
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SOURCE Lindblad Expeditions
