The president of the Algarve's main hotel association said today that losing the Portugal Rally to the north of the country is due to the "failure in negotiations" led by the Algarve region’s tourism body and represents "a loss of €100 million" to the Algarve.
The president of the Algarve mayor’s group, AMAL, commented also that the loss of the rally would be a "major setback for the region," which had played an important part in keeping the event going after security problems up north in recent years.
The world body that oversees the rally brought the race back to the Algarve but the Automobile Club de Portugal, the national organiser of the rally says that the next events will be hosted up north so as to reintroduce an element of competition.
The president of the Association of Hotels and Resorts in the Algarve, Elidérico Viegas, said today that the loss of the rally to the Algarve was due to the inability of Algarve Tourism to negotiate the race’s retention in the region.
"The loss of the rally represents a loss of more than €100 million. This is the figure attributed to the event according to a study that the Tourist Board itself commissioned," said Viegas, for whom the loss of the rally demonstrates a "lack of negotiating capacity" from the Algarve's Tourist Board run by Desidério Silva.
The President of the Algarve mayors group, Jorge Botelho said that, although there is no official confirmation that the race is being relocated to the north of the country, the information available points to a move from the Algarve.
Later the confirmation came through at an evening press conference in Lisbon - "After ten rallies in a row held in the Algarve and Baixo Alentejo, the Vodafone Rally de Portugal will head North in 2015 as World Rally Championship."
The organisers thanked the Algarve - "The support given to the event by the Algarve and Baixo Alentejo municipalities involved with the Rally’s route – Almodôvar, Faro, Loulé, Ourique, São Brás de Alportel, Silves and Tavira –, by the Algarve Tourism Board and by the Parque das Cidades, owner of the Algarve Stadium, was of the upmost importance for the success of the Vodafone Rally de Portugal."
"Counting on the highly important support of its main sponsors – Vodafone, Tourism of Portugal, BP and Hertz – the Rally will benefit from the direct involvement of the Amarante, Baião, Caminha, Fafe, Guimarães, Lousada, Matosinhos, Mondim de Basto, Ponte de Lima, Valongo, Viana do Castelo e Vieira do Minho municipalities in what will be the start of a new era in the Vodafone Rally de Portugal successful history."
Tourism chief Desidério Silva commented on this blow to the Algarve region's economy. Speaking on TSF radio Silva said: “It is my hope that the event will not be as successful up north as it was in the south. I hope the organisers soon will realise that they made a bad decision and that the Rally will return to the Algarve.”
