25 years of history for Toundra
This year, Toundra Voyages blows out its 25ᵉ candle!
It’s the story of a small receptive that became big, a team of passionate experts and a company that puts people at the heart of its vision. Since 1998, Toundra Voyages has been creating tailor-made trips throughout North America, and doing it well, thanks to its teams and network of partners. On the occasion of this anniversary, we took the time to look over our shoulder and appreciate how far we’ve come.
Toundra, genesis of a receptive business
In the beginning, there was one man: Jean-Christophe Viard. It was his love affair with Canada in 1984 that gave birth to Toundra Voyages a few years later. At the time, 20-year-old Jean-Christophe and a group of friends set off on an extraordinary canoe expedition in Canada’s far north. The inexperienced and somewhat unaware friends bought their canoes from the Innu at Sept Iles, boarded the train to Shefferville, crossed lakes and rapids, and headed deep into the Great North towards Hudson Bay. The adventure took a different turn when, on the tumultuous George River, the little troupe broke their boats and found themselves literally “lost in the Tundra”! In those days, there were no telephones and no Internet, and the band of friends were fortunately rescued by seaplanes after a few days of anguish. A journey that could have cost Jean-Christophe his life, but which remains THE greatest voyage of his life. A trip that would later lead to the creation of Toundra Voyages.
After completing his studies in Lyon, this native of the Haut-Marnais region began his professional career in finance and management. But his taste for adventure was too strong to last. Two years later, he met up with one of his friends from the Grand Nord expedition and set up a travel agency, still in Lyon, specializing in canoe trips to Canada. Jean-Christophe himself confesses: far too specialized, the business doesn’t take, nobody wants to buy the products on offer, far too adventurous. Convinced they were on the right track, the friends persevered, diversifying their offer with gentler activities, and launching a winter range with snowmobiles and dog sledding. One thing led to another, and Aventuria became a tour operator offering à la carte holidays, and the mayonnaise took off! Jean-Christophe quickly came up with the idea of opening an in-house receptive office in Canada. The team decided to set up an office in Montreal to welcome their travelers. In memory of this epic journey through the Tundra, in memory of risk, freedom and adventure, it didn’t take long to come up with the name for Aventuria’s new in-house receptive…
In 1998, Toundra Voyages was born!
ToundriGo: Toundra and its sister brands
For the time being, the fledgling Toundra is just the agency’s operational arm in France. A few people manage the Montreal office, while in Lyon, Jean-Christophe continues to develop his story, setting up other agencies and growing his network. One fine day in 2007, ready to experience Canada 100%, Jean-Christophe decided to sell his tour operator and move to Montreal. He took over the reins of Toundra Voyages, which was eager to live its own life, and in just a few years became one of North America’s leading receptive travel specialists. Thanks to its history, Toundra Voyages is well positioned in French-speaking markets. Our expertise in FIT stays is recognized by our customer agencies, and we’re proud to be able to count on a team that has grown steadily over the years.
The meeting between Jean-Christophe and Charles Frobisher, founder of Windigo Aventures, marked a turning point. In 2008, the two men decided to join forces. The result was the ToundriGo group. From then on, Toundra Voyages no longer moved forward alone, but alongside its sister brands. The group created Think Incentive and acquired Parcours Canada and Receptour, all under a common banner and with a focus on mutual support. As its founder says: “There is no Toundra without ToundriGo and no ToundriGo without Toundra”! The group also aims to support all brands. Whether it’s central and support services (marketing, finance, HR, office life) or the possibility of having our beautiful offices at 400 Atlantic, ToundriGo helps each brand to be good at what it does, in its travel specialty.
Like the tourism industry, Toundra continues to evolve and adapt.
Toundra Voyages DNA
What characterizes us as a B2B receptive company is the combination of customer service and cutting-edge technology. From the outset, we have been working with travel agents and tour operators, who distribute our free-form holidays. Our aim has always been to be of service to our customers, to be reactive and constructive, and to offer tailor-made travel in the best possible way, while always bringing something new to the table. Toundra Voyages has a 25-year mission focused on customer satisfaction. To continue doing what we do, and doing it well, we invest in high-performance IT systems, such as our in-house reservation software. We can also count on our 1,500 partner suppliers to help us create THE perfect stay.
But Toundra Voyages wouldn’t be much without its teams of destination experts and passionate travel advisors. The core group of old hands, those who experienced the excitement of the early days, the effervescence of an established agency and withstood the economic and mental tsunami of Covid, are the foundations on which Toundra was built and continues to grow. Our expertise owes a great deal to the transmission that takes place within our teams, to the knowledge of our founding members and to the enthusiasm of our young talents.
Toundra Voyages has been shining through its teams since 1998!
What’s next?
The road ahead is paved with challenges. Just as Toundra Voyages and Toundrigo demonstrated resilience in the wake of the health crisis and its disastrous impact on the tourism sector, we will continue to adapt. Today’s climate challenges require us to make a concrete commitment to greener tourism. As a founding member of Tourisme Durable, ToundriGo is embarking on its revolution and is committed to Travelife certification in Sustainable Tourism. Moving towards greater carbon neutrality, offering longer stays and more responsible activities is at the heart of our mission.
And then, above all, we’ll continue to develop the “ToundriGo Spirit”, a company where people are proud to come to work, to build together in trust and to belong to a shared history. Our corporate life and the well-being of our employees is a precious garden that we cultivate with great love.
So today, we invite you to join us in a toast to the adventure that is Toundra Voyages. We’re ready for another 25 years, and we hope to have you on board!
A HUGE thank you to our valued partners: Tourisme Outaouais, Abitibi-Témiscamingue, Yukon, Travel Alberta, Brand USA and Toundrigo!