Zehra Shallwani (Tourism Environment & Development, 2019) is a tourism professional and a cultural heritage advocate. She is the founder and CEO of Dastaan Tours, which champions sustainable tourism and cultural heritage in Pakistan.

In 2025, Zehra won a Culture and Creativity Award from the British Council. This prestigious accolade recognises her outstanding commitment to sustainability and cultural preservation.

What are your happiest memories of your time at King’s? 

My studies, teachers, fellows and the campus life itself are some of the happiest memories of my time at King's.

Walking from Waterloo to Strand campus itself is one of the most pleasant memories I have. I also am grateful for the opportunity to represent King's College Environmental Club at London Climathon 2018, where I won the competition that year.

Other highlights include volunteering at World Travel Mart, London, in November 2018 at Pakistan Pavilion. Here, I noticed that young women from southern Pakistan, like me, were under-represented in this field.

Seeing this gap in representation motivated me to change things and achieve my ambition of becoming a major player in the private sector. My goal is to represent southern Pakistan and advocate for sustainability through my work.

The rigorous as well and collaborative environment at King's helped me do this. King’s really fostered my growth, learning and confidence.

How have you stayed connected to King’s since graduating? 

I am a part of the King’s Alumni group in Pakistan, which I joined in 2022. Since then, I’ve tried to attend as many alumni meet and greet events as possible.

Why is your alumni network important to you?

Being part of this community has been paramount to my learning. To be able to network, collaborate and share is pivotal to my growth.

What advice would you give for success in life after King’s? 

You have to keep hustling. A degree itself is no longer enough. The world is too competitive and you need to be humble enough to start from scratch.

Keep learning, keep pitching and learn from your mistakes instead of regretting them. Learn to accept your failures.

King's does open doors, but success will only follow if keep yourself open to learning, unlearning and relearning.