Motor caravanning is an all-year-round activity in the Algarve, especially buoyant in the low season but the biggest problem has been the lack of response by councils, most of which have failed to provide registered sites.
So far, the Algarve has the only recognised motor caravanning network in the country but this "is still very insufficient", says José Pires, president of the Portuguese Federation of Motor Caravanning.
Pires says there is a need "to create more spaces dedicated to this type of tourism, since people tend to go to places where they feel most comfortable."
Similarly, the Algarve Caravan Site Network (RAAR) officials say that "whenever there is a service area, about 80% of the motor caravan owners go there instead of going to clandestine sites. The problem is that it is very difficult to get approval for the construction of new service areas, an extremely simple space that needs only a piece of land and the minimum services, such as water, electricity and sewage - that can have a high environmental impact if it is disposed of illegally.”
The RAAR scheme was launched in December 2015 after an agreement between the Regional Coordination and Development Commission for the Algarve, Algarve Tourism, the Algarve Tourism Association (ATA) and the mayors’ group, AMAL. This agreement had taken a full seven years to reach during which time, problems associated with wild camping increased alongside the growth in numbers.
In June, 2017, Silves council became the first in the Algarve to have municipal regulations for the sector.
Rosa Palma, the Silves mayor, said her municipality decided to regulate motor caravanning "because the council is very much in demand for this type of tourism, not only for motor caravans but also for camping and caravanning."
The Regional Coordination and Development Commission for the Algarve (CCDR-A) recognises the Silves initiative and wants the Silves regulatory package to serve as a prototype for other councils.
Palma says that motor homes now are much more organised, there is greater security in the area where they park and it is a great advantage for the local economy because these motorists buy everything in local shops and enjoy the local area.
In Tavira there currently are two parks for motor caravans. According to Mayor, Jorge Botelho, "new spaces are planned in Cachopo and Santa Catarina de Fonte da Bispo".
Tavira is hardly rushing to provide services as ‘over the next four years’ the council’s objective is to "control motor caravanning in the council area and eventually to regulate it."
Agnès Isern, vice president of the Association of Alentejo and Algarve Campsites, told news service POSTAL that there has been no response at all to the proposal submitted for a new law for the sector, submitted to the Secretary of State for Tourism in April 2017.
"There has been a decree law that makes some references to the sector but there is still nothing specific for motor caravanning. To develop our business we have no law to really help us."
As an example of the general lack of effort to improbe this sector, Desidério Silva, president of the Algarve Tourist Board, commmented, "motor caravanning clearly has potential in the Algarve and it can contribute to the development and growth of the Algarve, especially if it is developed in the inland areas where it boosts the growth of the local economy and small traders."
After nine years of discussion, Silves had to go it alone, there are no specific regulations in force and wild camping remains the preferred choice for an increasing number of motor caravan owners, mainly due to the lack of authorised camp sites.
