Lindblad Expeditions Holdings Inc.

Thank you for standing by and welcome to the Lynn Blatt Expeditions first quarter earnings conference call. At this time, all participants are in a listening mode. After this piece of presentation, there will be a question and answer session. To ask a question during the session, you will need to press star 1 on your telephone. Please be advised that today's conference is being recorded. If you require any further assistance, please press star 0. I would now like to hand the conference over to your speaker today, Craig Pellenstein. Thank you. You may begin.

Thank you, April. Good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us for Linblad's 2021 first quarter earnings call. With me on the call today, Sven Linblad, our founder and chief executive officer. Sven will begin with some opening comments, and then I will follow with some details on our financial results and liquidity before we open the call for Q&A. You can find our latest earnings release in the investor relations section of our website. Before we get started, let me remind everyone that the company's comments today may include forward-looking statements. Those expectations are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results and performance to be materially different from these expectations. The company cannot guarantee the accuracy of any forecasts or estimates, and we undertake no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. If you would like more information on the risks involved in forward-looking statements, please see the company's SEC filings. In addition, Our comments may reference non-GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of the most directly comparable GAAP financial measures and other associated disclosures are contained in the company's earnings release. And with that out of the way, let me turn the call over to Sven.

Thanks, Craig, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining us today. This morning started with some pretty interesting news that New York may be fully opening on July 1st, which certainly gave me a smile, and I'm sure many people on this phone call, responsibly opening on July 1st. That would be a huge victory that we've been waiting a long time for. As you all know, these past 12 months have been inordinately hard for our industry and for so many people that depend on tourism for their livelihoods. But now it's clear that there is significant positive momentum. And that momentum is due in large part to vaccinations, The acceleration of distribution in the U.S. has been a monumental achievement. And just a few days ago, the European Union stated that U.S. citizens who are vaccinated would soon be allowed to travel to EU countries. The details, of course, will take some time to emerge, but this is a huge and welcome step. At the end of March, when we announced our reactivation plans, we also announced that we would require all adults, all adults to be vaccinated. That was premised on a number of factors, but most importantly, it was based on our commitment to keeping our guests, our crew, and the people we visit safe. It was also overwhelmingly what our surveyed guests indicated that they wanted in order to return to travel. We couldn't be more excited to begin sailing again during the first week in June with two ships in Alaska and one in the Galapagos Islands, and our excitement has been matched by our guests. The demand has been so strong, particularly in Alaska, that we will likely be activating two more ships later in June. A fifth ship, the National Geographic Orion, may also be activated in Alaska if we can secure permission to effect clearance in a Russian port, as incorporating a foreign port is unfortunately necessary for a non-US ship in order to comply with the Jones Act. I think this reflects on the value of flexibility which our size ships allow for. Soon we will also reactivate sailings in parts of Europe beginning with Iceland and hopefully Greenland shortly thereafter. These are both geographies we know extremely well and areas that are in high demand from our audience. By year's end we anticipate being more or less fully operational again and we will return to explore the world's amazing geographies with a robust cash position and with two new complimentary travel companies that we acquired recently. These two additions are the latest pieces of our growth strategy, which includes offering a broad and deep platform for adventure and experiential travel opportunities. Divine Cycling and Adventure is a very high-end global adventure travel company exploring the world by bike, and they are poised to go rapidly with biking exploding. particularly with the greater production and the use of e-bikes, which significantly broadens the demographics of potential participants in bicycle touring. You cannot buy a bike at the moment, hardly, certainly not an e-bike. The demand is so significant. Our other acquisition, Off the Beaten Path, also operates globally, but primarily focuses on high-touch exclusive experiences in North American national parks. OBP was growing rapidly prior to COVID and given the focus on U.S. travel to remote locations right now, they are seeing record sales coming out of the pandemic. Both these companies are already extremely well run by entrepreneurial owners and have tremendous potential for growth, particularly when integrated into our marketing platform that is rapidly evolving with the goal of becoming a digital powerhouse. Over the past 50 years, Lindblad Expeditions has had hundreds of thousands of explorers discover the world's most extraordinary destinations while educating our guests about local cultures and the ever-changing environment. Through the expert lens of our specialists, guides, and our expedition ships, we're the gold standard in experiential travel by which others are measured. That commitment to excellence in everything we do on behalf of our guests is also reflected in our commitment to provide a best-in-class experience before, during and after the guest journey via our digital transformation efforts. By creating engaging informative content, personalized information, and rich media about travel and our destinations, we'll generate greater awareness, interest, and demand for our unique products and experiences while growing time spent with our brand. Our business will be fueled by the insight and data we'll be able to generate as a result of this transformation which will have a positive impact on everything we do, from content to operations, resulting in a richer and deeper understanding of needs while creating greater operating efficiency. Further, we'll be able to easily integrate other expeditions and services that we offer from our recent acquisitions and natural habitat to travelers, as they are omnivorous in their desires and interests in the unique experiences we provide. With this commitment to a best-in-class digital experience, Lindblad will not only transform but will lead the way from our roots as the innovator in the category of eco-adventure travel while pushing the envelope to provide the best experience pre, during, and post every expedition, allowing us to go further in every aspect of our business. As we strengthen our market reach, we will continue to look to further broaden our platform of companies while continuing to expand our core business of expedition ships either through new bills or acquisitions of existing vessels. The other announcement this past quarter, aside from our resumption of operation, was that next month I will be moving from my CEO position to co-chair of the board. This was envisioned about a year prior to the pandemic, but of course slowed as a consequence. The question I've been asked most often since we announced this change is why am I stepping down? Reality is, That's not really how I look at it. I feel I'm stepping into a role where I can use my abilities better or wisely and to greater effect. I have a deep understanding of this business, its components, and its opportunities. More and more as CEO, I felt that there was often not enough time to focus on long-term potential. Well, as of May 10th, that is about to change. Our new CEO, Dolph Burleigh, is an ideal candidate to succeed me as leader of this special organization. Dolph is most recently President and CEO of Topgolf, and I've gotten to know him well through the search and selection process. He deeply understands the importance of delivering unmatched guest experiences and creating communities, while keeping customer service at the front and center of all activities. He also understands the essential role of technology in growing businesses and the importance of building world-class teams. I view DOLF as a true partner, and I will continually be available to him as needed as an advisor and a thought partner. Personally, aside from helping onboard DOLF, I'm going to focus on growth opportunities, new geographies, and the strengthening of our social activities. As I have said probably each time we have reported, I believe so strongly that the combination of good, smart business combined with a strong, integrated approach to conservation, science, education, exploration, Diversity and inclusion is the essence of a sustainably successful enterprise. It always has been, but I feel even more important now as consumers care more and more about how a company relates to society more broadly as part of its relevance. It has been a tremendous honor to found and serve as the CEO of Lindblad Expeditions since 1979, and I'm proud of all that we've accomplished over the last 42 years. We've built a business based on the respect and understanding of geography and connecting hundreds of thousands of guests worldwide with nature, culture, and an opportunity to explore our world. In summary, it's been a long year, one with little to be happy about, optimistic about. That has now changed. Getting back to doing what we do is the greatest form of optimism, and we are on track to do that in just over a month. I couldn't be happier. We are well prepared to start up again. We have excellent financial reserves, a couple of new companies under our umbrella, and a marketing machine that is vastly strengthened for growth. And we have the added horsepower of a new, capable, enthusiastic CEO to lead the way in our next phase together with a talented and tenured team and an engaged board that has proven to be such an extraordinary asset in this most challenging year. Before I finish, I do want to thank all of you, our investors, who have recognized the long-term value of Lindblad Expeditions over the past year and maintained your enthusiasm for continued involvement. We should all be excited and optimistic about the years ahead where expedition and experiential travel become more and more meaningful to a traveling public itching to get out there and explore. Many thanks for your time today, and now let me turn the call back to Craig.