A passionate trekker and veteran of Bara Broq, Shimshal Pass and Minglik Sar (6050m) to name but a few, be it skiing in Rattu, cycling across the Karakoram Highway, or rafting in the River Indus, Komail has been hell bent on showing the world a side of Pakistan no one has ever seen before! An Economics Major from the Batch of 2015 at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), he’s the Co-Founder and CEO of FindMyAdventure and an Alibaba efounder fellow. He has previously worked at Standard Chartered Bank as a Fast track graduate and left his job to pursue his passion in adventure travel and tourism. He aspires to change the way tourism works in Pakistan. He has recently been nominated amongst the top 30 adventurers under 30 around the world – the first Pakistani to appear in the list.
What is your take on the current wave of tourism boost in Pakistan?
For me, it’s something I had only heard of from my seniors in the industry. They used to tell me how pre-9/11 foreign tourism was at its peak and operators would run from one hotel to the other to get bookings, but now what’s different is that we’ve activated the local potential as well. I have been pitching tourism and hospitality to investors for the past 3 years, but no one ever seemed interested; now all of a sudden, everyone thinks that I wasn’t bluffing and there is actually huge potential. I believe this wave had to come sooner or later and I know for a fact that this is not ending anytime soon.
How has the company grown since it started out?
We started working from my dining room where we would sit 12-14 hours a day and try to fulfill as many orders as we could ourselves, reach out to suppliers and even handle bank runs ourselves. The company is now entering its third year of operations and having served over 10,000+ travelers we now have a team of over 20 super talented individuals. It’s been quite a journey till now and we’ve definitely had our ups and downs, but everyone stood by us.
What was your inspiration behind starting Findmyadventure?
Pakistan is often in the news, but rarely is it to showcase its gorgeous landscapes, culture of hospitality and outdoor enthusiast community, which is why when I found myself falling into the familiar and comfortable pattern of a stable job and the 9-5 life, I ended up doing what any irrational milennial would do. I quit my job, derailed any semblance of a corporate career to be had and, with a group of friends, co-founded Pakistan’s first online travel and tourism portal, FindMyAdventure. The dream? To revamp the tarnished image of our country around the globe and make Pakistan the number one adventure destination in the world.
You can read the complete feature in our 8th issue here
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