It was approved on July 5, in the Municipal Assembly of Faro, the municipal regulation regarding the activity of caravanning and motorhoming.
According to the Municipality of Faro, the document aims to discipline the activity “and avoid the so-called informal concentrations of these vehicles in the municipality”. The municipality clarifies in a statement that it intends to overcome some “negative” effects of that activity, “namely the use of vehicles without conditions of habitability and environmental sustainability, which do not guarantee basic hygiene conditions and cause damage, for example, related to basic sanitation; or that do not present safety conditions (as is the case with some illegally transformed or degraded vehicles); or, still, that they remain for long periods in the same places, contributing to the degradation of public equipment, such as spouts and bathrooms “.
In this way, it is defined that the activity will have consigned places for its practice, existing the Camping Park of Praia de Faro, however, it recognizes that other spaces may be licensed, including motorhome service areas (places where vehicles can remain for a maximum of 72 hours, to carry out actions related to cleaning and maintenance of them).
The regulation establishes rules of conduct for motorhomers (following what is prescribed by Ordinance No. 1320/2008, of November 17), as well as for those who oversee the service areas. For example, it is mandatory to have an internal regulation in these places, in which they will be subject to inspection by the administrative and police authorities, including the municipality itself, and consequently, to the application of fines, in case of non-compliance. Caravaners, on the other hand, must comply with hygiene precepts, refrain from any acts likely to disturb others, not light a fire, except when using equipment to cook food authorized for this purpose, among other rules, describes the published document.
The municipality considers this instrument as “fundamental” in the management of the territory and in the framework of the activity, above all, considering that this is a practice that represents an important segment of tourism and “contributes to animate the local economy, blurring the asymmetries and isolation of the interior”, he concludes.
