Interview with Céline, Toogonet ambassador
From the cassette generation to juggling Zapier, Notion and ChatGPT: Céline Fortin, Toogonet ambassador and former Tour Leader, on her leap into tech — and why the human factor still wins.
Céline, you come from the tourism and travel world — how did you end up in tech?
I always had an aversion to technology, as if my brain just froze. I'm from the cassette and vinyl generation! I was much more of a people and field person, constantly pushing aside admin tasks and digital tools. And yet… today, I juggle with Zapier, Notion, Airtable, TOOGO, ChatGPT… and I even represent TOOGO at trade shows! Who would have thought?
Me, a technophobe?
So what convinced you to make the leap?
In this fast-paced race for innovation, I found my place. Tech isn't just about performance — it's about connections, community, exchanging best practices, building bridges, and making life easier for field people like me.
What truly won me over was a passionate team — complementary, inspiring, but never taking themselves too seriously. A group of friends who started 20+ years ago and have kept growing together. In such a dematerialized sector, the human factor is essential.
What won me over was the human side.
In a past life, you were a Tour Leader in Latin America. Tell us about it.
After a 4-month trip from Quito to Rio, I completely fell in love with the continent — its culture, raw beauty, and authenticity. I became a Tour Leader for over 4 years, guiding groups of Australians and Brits by bus, train, boat… It was pure adventure!
My role was to bridge travelers and locals while managing all the unexpected: itineraries disrupted by political uprisings, visa issues, power cuts, emergency evacuations, travelers nearly missing trains because they overslept… even mediating when a guest complained about her roommate constantly walking around naked (laughs)! Or when an Irish retiree announced on day one that he "hated the English"… in a group that was 90% English!
Looking back, it's funny. But what strikes me most today is the contrast: from being fully immersed with travelers on the ground, to working virtually behind a screen, exchanging only through emails and video calls. Thank goodness for trade shows — they keep the human connection alive!
Being a Tour Leader was pure adventure.
You've seen the industry evolve over the last 20 years. What stands out to you most?
When I was working in Bangkok managing operations across Southeast Asia, everything was on Excel and Word documents — itineraries, hotel bookings, transport, reports, client notes… all printed at the start of each trip.
Later, in England, I worked at Intrepid Travel and Wildlife Worldwide. Their systems were complex, sometimes frustrating, but also revolutionary — no more endless copy-paste. I built itineraries on Excel that were shared with partners for quotes, and handled yield management manually, with all the risks of error.
Then, in Barcelona, with Wildthentic, we implemented Treksoft. It was a game-changer — simple, practical, connected directly to our website. At the ATTA, a fully remote organization, tools like Salesforce, Slack, GSuite, Asana, Toggl, and Mailchimp were simply part of daily life. I saw firsthand the productivity boost.
Today, with AI, things are moving at lightning speed. It's overwhelming but also fascinating. Thanks to TOOGO, I've trained myself on Notion, Zapier, Canva, Hubspot, NotebookLM, ChatGPT… I've developed genuine curiosity about what's coming next. But I never lose sight of the key element: people.
From Excel spreadsheets to artificial intelligence.
How would you define TOOGO today?
As a free spirit — and what Fabrice calls the queen of interactions — I'm really excited about the launch of our TOOGO users' community on WhatsApp. There's a huge need for exchange around tech in our industry, especially with AI, which intimidates many. Our clients really appreciate that we're there for them — listening, sharing tips, creating short video tutorials, and even answering quickly via our chatbot.
This year, we launched our Zapier connection and our AI agent, enabling more automation and faster answers. We also set up group training sessions on key topics like Zapier and AI — included in our subscription — plus individual audits to help clients optimize their use of the tool. That's been very well received.
But TOOGO's role is also to reach small local agencies that can't afford to attend trade shows, and who struggle to stay competitive. We want to give them that breath of fresh air that transforms the way they work.
So, in one sentence? TOOGO is about making technology accessible, useful, and deeply human.
TOOGO is about bringing tech back to the human level.
Faites comme Raymundo ! Passez plus de temps sur le cœur de votre métier : le voyage, le terrain, la rencontre, la création.