Danish daily Avisen Danmark has reported from a Bedouin village in the desert outside Hurghada, Egypt, where the TUI Care Foundation and the consultancy Green Planet are helping the Maaza tribe build income from tourism.
Avisen Danmark describes a visit to the village, which is home to 34 people in six families. The trip took place from March 26 to 30, 2026, and the newspaper states it was invited by the TUI Care Foundation, which covered transport, accommodation and meals.
The Red Sea town of Hurghada receives around five million tourists a year and has some 1,000 hotels and resorts, according to the same report. Once a fishing settlement, the town now depends almost entirely on tourism, while life a few kilometers inland remains sparse desert.
Avisen Danmark notes that roughly one third of Egypt’s population lives in poverty, with Bedouin communities particularly affected. Fewer than one in five Egyptian women are in the labor market, and the share among Bedouin women is lower still.
Until now, the village has lived from breeding and selling animals and from selling milk, wool and meat. Through the project Colourful Cultures, the TUI Care Foundation and Green Planet have established the Maaza Colourful Cultures Hub, which functions as a village and a meeting point for safari groups, trade and workshops.
The TUI Group newsroom announced the project on January 29, 2026. According to the announcement, 100 members of the Maaza tribe will be trained in crafts, entrepreneurship, digital marketing and sustainable tourism, and 20 safari operators in sustainable off road driving.
The foundation also describes an annual Maaza Cultural Festival with workshops, performances and stargazing sessions, developed with the Red Sea Safari Association. Its German language release lists bread baking, henna art and coffee ceremonies among the activities offered to visitors.
Trade outlet Travel And Tour World reported on February 3, 2026 that the hub is the first dedicated center for the tribe’s crafts and artistry. Experience provider Badu Experiences markets a desert safari whose village breakfast and storytelling were developed under the hub initiative.
Avisen Danmark met the tribe’s leader, Sheik Mari, who does not know his exact age but estimates he is around 50. He has held the position for 10 years and took over when the previous sheik died. The title is not inherited but decided by election.
The Maaza still live as nomads within a territory measuring 100 by 200 kilometers, moving on when grazing plants are eaten, typically after two to three months. The paper also reports that waste from the desert is now collected at the safari gate, and that fences have been built to stop trash blowing away.
