Recommend January 2012 - (Page 14)

©RALPH LEE HOPKINS tour talk Polar bear in the Hinlopen Strait, Svalbard, Norway. LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS C rick shively helps guests understand the world Crabill says one really good promotion they have for the Galapagos starting in January is called Book Four and Explore. “Because the Galapagos is such a popular ﬁrst-time destination for many travelers who are new to the expedition community,” she explains, “travel agents often ﬁnd they can bring in new clients. So this promotion actually rewards agents who are able to book four cabins on our Galapagos trips, with an extra cabin—a ﬁfth cabin—which agents can use for themselves for an educational trip or just to go see the Galapagos and enjoy themselves. We did this promotion in the past and it got such a good response, we’re bringing it back again for 2012, launching in January.” Crabill says the one core difference between Lindblad and other tour operators that exempliﬁes the company’s commitment to expeditionstyle travel is its partnership with National Geographic, which they formalized in 2004. “We travel the world on a ﬂeet of ships that are completely in partnership with National Geographic. We have a shared mission of encouraging people to explore and care about the planet and that’s a completely above and beyond opportunity for any traveler who really wants to go to remote, ecologically important—and, frankly, fun destinations—and go there with the world’s best experts with the expertise of Lindblad and National Geographic behind them.” But, Crabill adds, “It’s much more than just an operational partnership, it’s also very much a mission-oriented partnership where Lindblad’s ﬂeet of ships going to these remote regions of the world, acts as a platform for research and for National Geographic explorers and residents to go out into the ﬁeld. And, our guests get to go there with them and have these experts on board and actually see, observe and participate in some of the research these leading scientists, researchers and experts are doing in many, many remote regions.” As a result, she says, Lindblad draws “…a highly afﬂuent, highly educated, but also a very savvy traveler that’s been everywhere in the world. But what they’re doing in this phase of their travel life is going places that are important, but also have a huge impact on understanding the world, wildlife, conservation on the planet and the impact that mankind and travel actually have on different geographies.” ■ contact information Lindblad Expeditions: (800) EXPEDITIONS; expeditions.com Certainly, as one of the most unique—not to mention experienced— tour operators in the industry, Lindblad Expeditions has been in the forefront of expedition travel for decades, ﬁrst with travel pioneer Eric Lars Lindblad’s Lindblad Travel and todays’ Lindblad Expeditions with its afﬁliate partner National Geographic—a travel product that incorporates cultural adventure with the opportunity to participate in global research and exploration. Indeed, there are very few remote corners of today’s world that Lindblad hasn’t steered its ﬂeet of ships or land programs into, from the Antarctic to the remote corners of Africa, Asia and Latin America. But, while its polar forays are the stuff of travel legend, according to Elizabeth Crabill, v.p., sales and marketing at Lindblad Expeditions, the company’s “…perennial front runner,” and the jewel in the Lindblad crown, is the Galapagos. “We are known very well for our polar travel, as well, and it’s very much a part of our history, but the Galapagos is a very special place. We operate two ships in the Galapagos year-round,” Crabill says, “ships we own so we’re able to completely operate every aspect of the experience top-to-bottom. So, with the two ships year-round, that is by far the largest destination that we serve and the most number of travelers that we send every year.” Those cruises, in fact, provide more naturalists per guest than any other Galapagos cruise and the company was the ﬁrst to bring nonscientiﬁc explorers to the archipelago in 1967, and at the same time, has been instrumental in its preservation. Both ships are totally outﬁtted with tools for exploration, including an expedition team that employs underwater cameras and video microscopes with HD screens to enable guests to explore the undersea, while they can also kayak, snorkel and explore wildlife up-close in Zodiacs. Crabill also points out that, “Lindblad is always very excited by the travel agent community’s response to our programs,” because the travel agents know that Lindblad attracts a very loyal traveler, so if they send someone with Lindblad, they’re probably going to get that person back again for another trip. “We do offer a wide variety of educational materials on our website for new programs; we’ve printed new brochures; we’ve printed new materials and we offer videos for many, many of our programs that agents can use to educate themselves about our programs,” she adds. “They can also use those videos to share with their clients so they’re actually multi-purpose.” 14 january 2012 recommend.com http://www.expeditions.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend January 2012

Editor's Note
Hotel Desk: Hard Rock Hotels and Resorts
Tour Talk: Lindblad Expeditions
Holland America's Veendam
Delta Air Lines' 2012 Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America Travel Guide
The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes
Las Vegas' 2012 Offerings
Hot European Tours for 2012
Hokkaido, Japan
Egypt's Antiquity Attractions are Eternal

Recommend January 2012