Ski trips, golf trips, diving trips, girls' trips, senior trips, LGBT trips... name it , there's something for everyone! School groups, sports groups, corporate groups... all you have to do is get together! Helo Voyages is an agency that does things differently. And does them well.

The call of travel

Josée Vennes was an interior designer. She raised a family. She did everything right, properly. Then one day, a wind of change blew into her life. The chergui surely, this trade wind of the Sahara. In 2016, the call of travel is stronger than anything, and it comes from Morocco.

“I had always wanted to work in the travel world, but I had put that on hold,” she confides. “So I decided to book my trip solo, for a long stay. Three weeks all by myself in North Africa. Quite a gamble!”

I made sure to follow all the recommendations: sunglasses so as not to look people in the eye, no jewelry, a scarf on my head. Big prejudices! The first week, I stayed within the four walls of the hotel. Then I wanted to go out to see what it was really like outside… And that was the beginning of a great adventure.

An agency like no other

The career change was a natural choice. Upon her return, Josée completed six months of intensive training in tourism at Collège April Fortier. “It clicked,” she says. “I knew going in that I wouldn’t be a traditional travel agent: I like things that are out of the ordinary!”

There was no way I was going to sit behind a desk selling travel: I was a mobile agent, going to clients and businesses. It quickly started to grow!”

Then the pandemic arrived, but she continued to roll up her sleeves. Tourism has become local. In 2021, her group of agencies opened the first Club Med Village in Canada and Quebec, in Charlevoix. A great opportunity for Helo Voyages to present its packages to Morocco.

"We also took the opportunity to redo our website, and especially to refine our private tours for Quebec customers. We adapted our offers, which were no longer aimed at mass tourism, but at small, selective groups.

No more go, go, go ! We want to make people travel differently, that's our motto: Helo Voyages, travel differently . We sell exclusive packages, à la carte, and above all, adjusted to each traveler. I have always put the needs of my customers at the center of my services. It's in the DNA of our companies.

The price you pay from one place to another is more or less the same, whether you are disappointed or satisfied! So we make sure that you come back amazed! We are the only ones in Quebec to offer a multi-sport trip to Morocco, for example. Private driver, guide, a variety of accommodations, from Riyadh to the Casbah, traditional food, everything is done to allow an experience out of the ordinary.

Helo Voyages developed Helo Maroc, which is a package and tour operator, that is, it designs packages and offers unique formulas for Morocco, and sells them to travel agencies throughout Quebec. It intends to continue in this vein with different Helo around the world.

From the heart to the work

In 2019, Josée was able to take advantage of good timing : she was called about an agency that was for sale with a team of around thirty years of experience and two branches.

“I am so grateful to have these experienced advisors,” insists Josée. “I got through the pandemic thanks to their dedication. They are passionate, they deeply love their job. Every year, I thank them. This time, we are going on a cruise, on training (because we want to stay up to date!) I am truly blessed to be surrounded by these women of heart, curious and open to the world.”

After the pandemic, everything had to be restarted. “It’s like starting a new business! I remain hopeful of running it the way I always wanted to, but in the meantime, we have to maintain operations and manage the paperwork related to the new travel arrangements. It’s heavier, and that’s what put out the fire for many agencies… Today, we have to train the next generation, because the labor shortage is real and it’s putting our businesses at risk. I can’t wait to be able to get away from daily tasks and go back to traveling too, to get inspired and design new packages.”

Rekindle the flame. Selling dreams will come back one day. For me, for my customers, and for my team. Because travelers and our employees are at the heart of our companies' success. "