Mama knows best: How Jan Poon became travel’s beloved matriarch

In Canada’s travel industry, there are advisors, and then there’s “Mama Jan.”

Say the name out loud at a conference and you’re likely to get a knowing smile.

Calgary-based Jan Poon of Postcard Vacations didn’t set out to become anyone’s industry matriarch, but somewhere along the way, between decades of experience, steady guidance, and a knack for looking after people, the nickname stuck.

“I feel very touched and respected when fellow advisors and supplier partners call me ‘Mama Jan,’ even if it means they see me as a little seasoned and maybe really old,” says Poon. “It started years ago at a conference when a colleague, Shauna, began calling me that, and it simply stuck.”

It stuck so well, in fact, that one year her conference badge made it official.

“One year, I couldn’t find my name badge anywhere, only to discover it had been printed as ‘Mama Jan.’ I guess I’ve become everyone’s Mama and honestly I love it!” she says.

At 87, Poon has earned the title. Not just through longevity, but through a career that’s as layered as it is lively. She’s been in travel for 27 years, including 26 with Trevello, but her professional life hardly started there.

She became a travel advisor in 2000 after selling a retail business. “I was looking for a new and fulfilling career path. I wasn’t ready to retire,” she says. “What started as a fresh opportunity quickly grew into a passion and long-standing profession.”

Before travel, there was oil and gas, retail, and even a family restaurant business.

“I’ve always gravitated toward people-focused roles,” she says.

Born in Vancouver, she has been married to her husband for 67 years, and family remains at the centre of everything she does.

Today, that family spans generations—children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren—with around 30 people gathering around the table, and another on the way.

From $1.25 food plates to luxury skincare

Long before travel, Poon was already a seasoned entrepreneur.

For more than 35 years, she and her family ran a Chinese food booth at the Calgary Stampede—an experience she still recalls with vivid detail, right down to the pricing: $1.25 for a three-combination plate, with an egg roll for 50 cents.

It was hard work and fast-paced – an early glimpse into the energy that would later define her travel career.

Her business instincts didn’t stop there. Nearly four decades ago, she helped introduce a luxury Japanese skincare line to Canada alongside her sister-in-law—a venture that continues to this day.

Calm-in-the-chaos energy

If that sounds like the resume of someone who knows how to handle just about anything, well, that’s because she does. Especially when travel plans don’t go quite as planned.

Take an incident in Tokyo. Working with a supplier partner, Poon once arranged an accessible transfer for a cruise client in Tokyo when it became clear that the vehicle that was booked wouldn’t meet the client’s need.

“The guide was able to arrange an ambulance that could properly assist. My client can now say she rode in a personal ambulance, touring Tokyo for six hours. It wasn’t what I planned, but served as a good reminder that even the best preparation can go sideways,” Poon says.

That calm-in-the-chaos energy is part of what’s made Poon such a beloved figure – not just to clients, but to colleagues.

And yes, to family, too. She’s the real-life mother of TTC Tour Brands’ Jodine Clement, a well-known name in the industry in her own right.

Their professional paths even once overlapped – the mother-daughter duo initially launched their travel business together before Clement later transitioned into sales roles.

Not just a nickname

Since then, Poon has built a thriving travel business with a particular love for cruising.

She’s earned her Master Cruise Counsellor designation and has booked everything from short sailings to world cruises. But ask her what really keeps her going, it’s not the destinations. It's earning her clients' trust.

Poon also continues to work and connect with clients while living with Stage 4 lung and bone cancer, a diagnosis she received in 2019, with two years of remission.

Despite this, her outlook remains forward-facing—much like the way she approaches travel and life alike.

“Mama Jan” isn’t just a nickname, it’s a role. The one who checks in on you, and somehow makes a big, fast-moving industry feel a little more human.

And if she occasionally calls herself the “Dinosaur of the Trevello family”? That’s just part of the charm.

In an industry that’s always chasing the next big thing, Mama Jan proves that experience, and a good sense of humour, never go out of style.

This article originally ran on May 6, 2026, as part of PAX's annual "10 Most Fascinating Travel Advisors" list to mark Travel Advisor Appreciation Day. To read the full feature, click here.

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