Sustainable, Inclusive Rural Tourism Rapid Assessment, Dahshour

Plan International Egypt commissioned Common Ground Solutions to conduct a rapid assessment of sustainable, inclusive rural tourism in Markaz Badrashin, Giza governorate. The assessment was the evidence base for a project proposal under the 2026 Call for Cooperation Projects of the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID).

The terms of reference asked CGS to identify tourism-related value chains that can generate income for women and youth; to map market gaps, production capacity and market linkages for micro, small, informal and home-based enterprises; and to assess the barriers to women's and young people's economic participation, including social norms, unpaid care work, mobility, skills and access to finance.

CGS designed a rapid mixed-methods assessment covering Dahshour and four neighbouring villages, within the wider Saqqara-Dahshour-Memphis heritage corridor. In April and May 2026, the team conducted 12 focus group discussions with about 112 women, men and young people, 15 key informant interviews with rural-tourism farm owners across four maturity tiers, and five institutional interviews with nine informants from the ministries of tourism and environment, an inbound tour operator and local civil society. All fieldwork was conducted in Arabic with informed consent.

The qualitative evidence was triangulated with a desk review and Plan International Egypt's 2025 SWEEt endline survey of 322 respondents, so that the analysis rested on findings supported across several sources.

CGS delivered an assessment report, proposed seven-module rural-tourism TVET curriculum, and a two-year implementation pathway for the project.