Paris–Dakar: Coming Home to Morocco?
Could the legendary rally return to Morocco in 2027 amid tensions in the Middle East?
For one Belgian boy who grew up watching the race, the possibility is more than a sporting headline.
There are moments when a news announcement takes you straight back to another time.
For me, it was the Paris–Dakar Rally.
I was thirteen, a Belgian boy sitting with my family after our New Year’s brunch. The television was on, and there it was: enormous trucks, motorbikes disappearing into the dust, cars fighting their way across an unforgiving landscape, and helicopters following the action from above.
No drones. No spectacular social-media edits. Just the raw spectacle of men, machines and an immense continent that seemed to stretch beyond the edge of the television screen.
I remember the feeling more than the details. That mixture of adventure, danger and freedom. The sense that somewhere out there, the world was much bigger than the one I knew.
I could hardly have imagined that Morocco would one day become my home. Nearly two decades of living here have given me a different understanding of the country: its landscapes, its people, its contradictions and its extraordinary capacity to surprise.
And now, in October 2026, the possibility of the Paris-Dakar: Coming home, returning to Africa has brought that childhood memory back to life.
Some things, it seems, never quite leave you.
The news: Dakar is leaving Saudi Arabia in 2027
On 25 October 2026, the organisers, Amaury Sport Organisation (A.S.O.) and Saudi Motorsport Company (SMC), officially announced that the 2027 Dakar Rally would not take place in Saudi Arabia.
The decision follows recent developments in the region. The organisers confirmed that the rally would go ahead in a different territory, with the new location to be announced separately.
Saudi Arabia is expected to return as host in 2028, when the rally celebrates its 50th edition.
The official announcement is available on the Dakar Rally website.
One thing is certain: the Dakar is moving away from Saudi Arabia for 2027. The question is where it will go.
And Morocco is firmly in the conversation.
Is Morocco preparing to welcome the Dakar home?
Reports published in the days before the official announcement suggested that the rally could return to Africa, with Morocco emerging as a leading candidate. Reuters reported on 21 October that sources familiar with the event expected a move to Africa, potentially involving a European prologue in Spain or Portugal before the main rally continued in Morocco.
Motorsport publications have also reported that a European start followed by stages in North Africa is under consideration. However, until A.S.O. confirms the destination, dates and route, these details must remain possibilities rather than facts.
For Morocco, the prospect is compelling.
The country offers vast desert landscapes, rocky plateaus, mountain passes and remote tracks that can test both driver and machine. It also has something that is difficult to manufacture: a long-standing relationship with rally-raid competition and a landscape that has become part of the Dakar story itself.
From the dunes around Merzouga to the routes leading towards Zagora and the Draa Valley, Morocco is not simply a backdrop for adventure. It is a destination where distance, terrain, climate and local knowledge genuinely shape the experience.
The country knows how to host demanding journeys. It knows how to welcome international visitors. And it has the infrastructure, experience and geographical variety to make a return of this scale a serious proposition.
But the final decision belongs to the organisers. Until they speak, Morocco remains a strong possibility, not a confirmed host.
A name that never really disappeared
The Dakar Rally began in 1978, when French motorcyclist Thierry Sabine developed the idea of a competition crossing some of the world’s most challenging terrain. The first edition ran from Paris to Dakar in Senegal, establishing a name that would become synonymous with endurance, navigation and adventure.
For decades, Africa was the rally’s natural home. Its routes crossed countries and landscapes that became legendary among competitors and spectators alike.
The 2008 edition was cancelled because of security concerns. In 2009, the event moved to South America, where Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and Paraguay became part of its story. In 2020, the rally began a new chapter in Saudi Arabia, where it has been held ever since.
The name, however, remained Dakar.
That is an interesting detail. The rally has travelled across continents, changed its routes and adapted to different realities, yet its identity has survived. The destination in its name is no longer necessarily the destination on the map.
Perhaps that is why the possibility of a Moroccan return feels so natural. The Dakar name carries its own geography: memories of Africa, of desert crossings, of long days and longer nights, of machines pushed to their limits.
And Morocco has always belonged to that imagination.
For the official history, see Dakar’s historical archive.
Merzouga, Zagora and the road between them
Ask travellers about Morocco’s desert, and Merzouga will often come up first. The dunes of Erg Chebbi have become one of the country’s best-known landscapes, attracting visitors in search of desert camps, camel rides, 4x4 excursions and the particular silence that arrives when the light begins to fade.
Zagora offers a different perspective. The Draa Valley, with its palm groves, villages and historic kasbahs, tells a story of trade routes, settlement and life adapted to an unforgiving environment.
Between these regions lies a world of tracks, plateaus, stony desert and changing terrain. Parts of the wider area are already familiar to travellers who follow Morocco’s traditional overland routes. Visitors continue to explore sections of the country associated with old rally itineraries, although modern tourist journeys are not the same as competitive Dakar stages.
For those who have travelled here, the appeal is obvious. The desert is not an empty space waiting to be crossed. It is a landscape of contrasts, where the route matters as much as the destination.
A return of the Dakar Rally would bring international attention to regions that have developed considerably over the past decades, both in tourism infrastructure and in their capacity to welcome visitors.
Morocco does not need a rally of this magnitude to keep these regions moving forward. Its real value lies elsewhere: in demonstrating that the Kingdom can mobilise quickly, coordinate complex operations and accommodate major international events at short notice. The opportunity is not simply to host the rally, but to use it to reinforce Morocco’s reputation as a destination capable of delivering demanding international projects.
The economic and operational equation
The economic impact of an event such as the Dakar Rally should not be measured by international media exposure alone. Its value depends on how effectively that exposure translates into local expenditure, business activity and longer-term destination awareness.
The direct economic effects would include accommodation, transport, vehicle preparation and maintenance, fuel, catering, security, medical services and other logistical requirements. These activities can generate business for established operators while creating opportunities for smaller suppliers along the route. However, the scale of the benefit would depend on the final itinerary, the location and duration of bivouacs, the number of support personnel and spectators, and the proportion of expenditure retained within the local economy.
January: an opportunity beyond the peak season
A January edition could offer Morocco a useful seasonal advantage. Although winter is already an established period for desert touring and cultural circuits, a major international rally could generate additional demand during a period outside the main summer holiday season.
The commercial impact would nevertheless vary by destination. Hotels and transport operators near bivouacs, service areas and logistical hubs would be better positioned to capture immediate demand than businesses located further away. The extent to which other regions benefit would depend on the route’s accessibility, the availability of accommodation and the design of complementary travel products.
For destination-management companies, tour operators and travel agencies, the opportunity would extend beyond the event itself. Rally-related itineraries could be combined with desert experiences, cultural visits and extensions to other Moroccan destinations. Turning this potential into business would require products that are commercially viable, operationally realistic and available for sale through established distribution channels.
Operational capacity as a strategic asset
There is another dimension that deserves attention: the ability to deliver a complex international event within a demanding timeframe.
A rally of this scale requires coordinated route planning, security protocols, medical and recovery services, communications, transport logistics, environmental safeguards and cooperation between public authorities and private operators. In remote areas, these requirements become particularly demanding. The challenge is not simply to move a large event into the desert, but to ensure that its operational footprint remains manageable, safe and compatible with local conditions.
For Morocco, successfully hosting the rally would therefore represent more than a temporary tourism opportunity. It would demonstrate the country’s capacity to coordinate international stakeholders, mobilise local suppliers and manage a high-profile, geographically dispersed operation.
With the 2030 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, that capacity has wider strategic relevance. Major events differ considerably in their technical requirements, but each places demands on infrastructure, inter-agency coordination, service standards and crisis management. A successful Dakar edition would provide another visible demonstration of Morocco’s ability to operate on the international stage.
From event exposure to lasting destination value
The longer-term return is less automatic. Media coverage can raise awareness, but awareness alone does not guarantee bookings. Converting visibility into sustained tourism demand requires reliable access, suitable accommodation, trained local operators, compelling itineraries and effective international distribution.
It also requires a realistic assessment of where the benefits will fall. Local participation, procurement practices, environmental management and the protection of communities along the route should form part of the evaluation, rather than being treated as secondary considerations.
The relevant question for Moroccan tourism is therefore not simply whether the Dakar will return, but how the country can convert a major sporting event into measurable economic activity and lasting destination value.
A rally can put a region in front of millions of viewers. The real achievement is to give those viewers a reason to visit afterwards—and to ensure that the resulting business reaches the destinations and communities that made the event possible.
More than nostalgia
I have spent much of my professional life in tourism, working with destinations, hotels, tour operators and destination-management companies. I have seen how a place can change when the world starts paying attention to it. I have also seen how quickly an opportunity can disappear when the planning stops at the announcement.
Morocco has the ingredients to benefit from renewed Dakar attention. But the country’s real strength lies in the diversity of experiences it can offer beyond the rally itself.
The traveller who comes to watch a stage might stay to discover the Draa Valley. Someone who follows the race through the desert might return for a longer road trip. A destination that first appears in a television report could become part of someone’s travel plans for years to come.
That is the possibility worth considering.
And there is a personal side to it, too. I still remember the boy watching the Dakar with his family after New Year’s brunch. He did not know Morocco would become such an important part of his life. He certainly did not imagine that, decades later, he would be following news about the rally from a country he had come to call home.
The world has a curious way of joining the dots, even when we cannot see them at the time.
So, is the Paris–Dakar coming home?
Not officially. Not yet.
What has been confirmed is that the 2027 rally will leave Saudi Arabia and take place in another territory. Morocco has been widely reported as a possible destination, with a European prologue also discussed, but the organisers have yet to confirm the new location and route.
That distinction matters. In travel, as in rally-raid, there is a difference between knowing the direction and knowing the destination.
Still, the prospect is enough to stir something.
For the thirteen-year-old boy in Belgium, Dakar represented a world of adventure beyond the television screen. For the man who later made his life in Morocco, the possibility of the rally returning to Africa feels like the reappearance of an old friend.
And perhaps that is the enduring power of the name. The Dakar has crossed continents, changed its starting points and reinvented its route, but the idea has remained: adventure, endurance and the pull of the unknown.
If Morocco becomes its next chapter in 2027, it will be more than a sporting story. It will be a meeting between a legendary rally and a country that has long been part of its spirit.
For now, we wait for the official announcement.
But somewhere between Merzouga and Zagora, the thought already feels familiar.
Peter Manshoven Time for a T.
Peter Manshoven writes for Peter.ma Travel Intelligence, drawing on a lifetime in tourism and a long-standing connection with Morocco.
Sources & further reading
Official Dakar Rally announcement — 25 October 2026Dakar 2027 will not take place in Saudi Arabia; the rally will return to the Kingdom in 2028 for its 50th edition.The primary source confirming the relocation away from Saudi Arabia and the planned return there in 2028.
Reuters — 21 October 2026Dakar Rally 2027 will move from Saudi Arabia to Africa, sources say.Reporting on the possible African route, including Morocco and a potential European prologue, based on sources familiar with the event.
Reuters — 25 October 2026Dakar Rally 2027 will not be held in Saudi Arabia, organisers say.Independent reporting on the official relocation announcement.
Autosport — 25 October 2026Dakar Rally moves 2027 event out of Saudi Arabia; new location to be announced.Motorsport coverage of the decision and speculation surrounding a possible Morocco route.
Dakar Rally — official historical archiveThe history of the Dakar.Background on the rally’s origins and its evolution across different continents.
Editorial note: The relocation away from Saudi Arabia and the planned Saudi return in 2028 are confirmed by the organisers. Morocco, a European prologue and the final route and dates for 2027 should be treated as unconfirmed unless and until A.S.O. publishes the official itinerary.
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