Bolivia wants to host Dakar Rally again in 2016

Bolivian President Evo Morales Monday proposed hosting the Dakar Rally again in 2016, across more of the country.

"My great wish is to host (the rally) over four or five days in three or four departments," Morales told reporters at a press conference before the start of Day 8 in this year's race, which took competitors from Bolivia's Uyini salt flats to the town of Iquique, in neighboring Chile.

Morales, who was at the site to see off the racers, said both of the editions Bolivia has hosted so far, including last year's, have satisfied the organizers, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO), but the decision lies with the competitors.

"There's not much to say, (the organizers) are on board, but the main defenders of holding the Dakar in Bolivia are the racers," said Morales, who believes the race helps generate much-needed revenue for the small South American nation.

Juan Ramon Quintana, the minister of the presidency, said the race was having a notable impact on the economy, especially the tourism industry.

"The Dakar is transforming the economy, the living conditions in the southern region, especially in Uyuni," where the number of Japanese visitors has increased by 500 percent in the last year, said Quintana, without providing any figures.

"The number of foreigners in the region has grown strongly and significantly, and it's not a coincidence that in less than a year, we have seen exponential growth in tourism infrastructure," he added.

The rally's motorcycle and quad racers traversed part of the 10,000-square-kilometer salt flats for the first time ever this year, during the rugged off-road race's trajectory through Bolivia.

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