Pakistan’s first tourism incubation program for startups to launch in Abbottabad

Tech Valley Abbottabad organized first of its kind conference on Tourism, Technology and Entrepreneurship, “Rebuild KP through Entrepreneurship & Tourism”.

The purpose of this conference was to promote tourism with the help of technology and entrepreneurship. The theme revolved around how technology can empower and enable the young generation of KP to build solutions around Tourism. The event was brought together with the help of many supporters and sponsors including TripKar, Hive Islamabad and others.

Umar Farooq, the mastermind behind this conference has worked in the IT industry of USA and Canada for 17 years. He came back with an aim to create a co-working space for startups known as “Tech Valley Abbottabad”. At the event, he also announced the establishment of Pakistan’s first ever tourism Incubation Center in Tech Valley Abbottabad where startups will be invited free of cost, to work for 4 months. It will be an opportunity for the startups to seek funding and get mentoring and technical guidance. He said,

“KP got 8.8 million foreign and over 10 million domestic tourists last year. With the security situation getting stable, this is the optimum time to take practical, urgent initiatives to build tourism.”

Various speakers talked about the role of IT in sustainable development in tourism, the role of financial institutions, startup culture in Pakistan and key success stories of entrepreneurs. Asad Umar, the Chief Guest and PTI member, said,

“Challenges lead to immense opportunities. Every challenge can inspire an entrepreneur to come with a unique idea to solve a problem”.

The event was attended by more than 500 people including many key stakeholders related to tourism, IT and entrepreneurship industries.