Prométour began not as a business plan, but as a friendship that has evolved for over five decades.
The three founders, Sébastien Letailleur, Stanislas Myszkowski, and Xavier Buisson, met on the first day of school when they were 6 years old in 1974. It is hard to imagine them as kids playing soccer together in the suburbs of Paris and getting into all sorts of mischief. Yet the more impressive part is that they managed to nurture this relationship from childhood friendship, all through high school, university, travelling the world, starting a business together, and growing it steadily over the past 34 years.
Photo: A group photo of three founders of Prométour together as kids in a class photo, 1974 as they entered Cours préparatoire à l'école primaire.
Top row, Third from the left : Xavier Buisson; Middle row, first from the left : Stanislas Myszkowski; and bottom row, third from the left : Sébastien Letailleur.
During high school, the three musketeers travelled different parts of Europe and the Americas together, learning about the world beyond their classroom walls and textbooks. Travel was not just a hobby for them. It was a way to learn, to interact, and to understand how culture and language shape the way people think. They spent a couple years adventuring, maturing their interests, their philosophies, meeting fascinating cultures, and one day ended up in a small town in Coatesville, Pennsylvania. They rented a room from a kind lady who served a pivotal role in the lives of these young people.
Grandma Mimi, as they came to fondly call her was a retired teacher and was extremely kind and generous, often sharing meals with them, helping with their English and sharing a lot of funny stories. One fine day, when they all got together and were discussing the cost of living, university dreams and travel, Grandma Mimi made a suggestion that considering their French heritage they should visit and explore the province of Quebec together.
Photo on the left: A group photo of three partners of Prométour with Grandma Mimi from Pennsylvania in 1987;
Photo on the right: Founders Stanislas Myszkowski and Sébastien Letailleur enjoying a traditional meal at a ranch in Quebec, Canada in 1988.
The trip they took to explore Quebec was monumental for all of them. They fell in love with the province, the culture and the trademark Canadian friendliness. When the temperatures dropped, they discovered a whole new paradigm in Quebec where people embraced the cold with wonderful winter activities from skiing, snow shoeing, cross country skiing, skating and even dog sledding. The trip turned out to be so heart-warming and pleasant that all three of them settled and attended university in Montreal. Throughout their time in Quebec they often visited Grandma Mimi, exchanged correspondences and recognized her role in their decision to discover and settle in Quebec. It was an early lesson in understanding the lasting impact teachers can have far beyond formal instruction.
During university years, the three friends continued travelling parts of the world together, exploring the beauty and cultures. Whenever they returned from trips or visited home and met their old friends, they realized how their communication skills, and viewpoints of the world had evolved significantly through these travel experiences. It led them to recognize that the collective experiences we have in our formative years greatly contribute to shaping our worldview in adulthood.
Photo: The three partners of Prométour travelling together as teenagers. From the left: Xavier Buisson, Stanislas Myszkowski, and Sébastien Letailleur.
During their final year of university, conversations about future careers led them to reflect on how deeply travel had shaped their learning. They also recognized that Québec offered something rare for students learning French in North America. Combining these two insights, they envisioned the benefits of developing culturally rich and linguistically immersive tour programs and making them accessible to North American schools. That conversation sparked the idea to promote Québec as a destination where students could truly live the French language rather than just study it in classrooms.
They decided to contact local businesses, tourist attractions, researched the market and identified programs that enrich the cultural and educational experiences of students visiting Quebec. To that effect they designed a travel coupon book, tested and pitched some ideas with the market, got some valuable feedback from entrepreneurs, teachers, and educators across North America and Europe. One year later, in 1992, that idea was a reality and became Prométour Educational Tours.
Photo: Early experiments of Prométour with coupon books often offering discounts at local tourist attractions and restaurants.
The company was established in Montréal, operating out of a modest apartment. There were no departments or layers of hierarchy. Just three friends dividing responsibilities naturally. Two of them focused on sales, support and relationships with teachers, and another on booking and logistics. From the beginning, Prométour was built on collaboration, trust, and shared accountability.
Photo on the left: The first office of Prométour operating out of modest apartment in 1992 Photo in the middle: Founder Xavier using text document in their first Macintosh computer. Photo on the right: Founder Sébastien Letailleur making their first sales call from their new office in 1992.
Early programs focused on French language travel for students from the United States. What set Prométour apart was not scale, but intention. Trips were designed around educational goals, cultural exchange, and real interaction with local communities. Teachers responded quickly and very positively. Teachers trusted the programs because they felt supported and involved in creating educational experiences that aligned with their classroom goals.
As Prométour’s reputation expanded, so did its reach. A second office opened in Paris in 1998, strengthening European partnerships and reinforcing the founders’ roots. In 2000, a third office was established in Spain, further expanding Prométour’s ability to design immersive programs across multiple countries. What started as a Québec-focused initiative evolved into a specialized educational travel group serving students worldwide. In 2011, a sister company 'Forum by Prométour' was established in San Diego, California to handle and promote language and cultural exchange programs with Europe.
Despite this growth, the philosophy never changed. Prométour remained committed to engaging, affordable, and fully customized educational travel. Every itinerary was built with teachers, not for them. The goal was always to make planning easier, learning deeper, and travel more meaningful.
Photo: The three partners of Prométour from a get-together in 2022 at the Malaga office in Spain.
Today, more than three decades later, Prométour continues to be led by its founders from Montréal, Málaga, and Paris. The company remains independent, teacher-focused, and deeply committed to thoughtful educational travel. Prométour’s mission continues to reflect its origins: to design customized educational group travel that supports teachers and helps students discover, share, and understand the diversity and beauty of the world around them. Travel is not treated as a product, but as a learning environment where language, culture, and confidence develop together.
Prométour’s story is ultimately a human one. It is about friendship sustained over time, curiosity turned into purpose, and the belief that when students experience the world directly, learning stays with them long after the journey ends.
