“It is important to reiterate that demand and interest in expedition travel is unprecedented in history,” said Sven Lindblad, founder and CEO of Lindblad Expeditions, speaking on the company’s first quarter earnings call.

Coming off a strong net income boost year-over-year, Lindblad said technology was helping drive a boom in expedition travel.

“Every human being now has the capacity to be a communicator in photos, videos and words simply with a device that fits in the palm of their hand,” he said. “It is a burning hunger that people now have, enabled by technology, to experience and to share. And there is no question that an expedition where you travel, where a traveller becomes an explorer is a very compelling idea.”

With a new coastal ship joining the fleet late this year, and an expedition ship in 2020, Lindblad said booking were strong, and up 20 percent year-over-year in the first quarter.

“This booking strength is broad-based with significant demand across all our vessels and itineraries,” Lindblad said.