Vila do Bispo, Portugal, July 7, 2025 (Lusa) - The Vila do Bispo Council, in the Algarve, aims to regulate the movement of motorhomes that park without adhering to rules in natural parks or urban areas, thereby creating problems for local communities.
“What we want is for things to be organised and legal. We welcome tourism that aligns with our goals, as it brings cleanliness, good hygiene, and strong public health,” the mayor of Vila do Bispo, Rute Silva, told the Lusa news agency.
The municipality has implemented the ban on parking in natural parks, which cover most of its territory, although authorities often do not enforce it, creating other problems that officials must resolve.
“I can give you an example: we have school car parks that motorhomes occupy in the morning when parents take their children to school,” said the mayor.
The council has installed signs redirecting parking to approved areas and plans to take further action.
The Algarve municipality (district of Faro) will begin public discussion of a proposed regulation that guides caravans and motorhomes to approved overnight areas within urban boundaries, following the approach already in place in natural parks, where designated service areas and campsites welcome overnight stays.
“What we need is to create more infrastructure, i.e. service areas or campsites, so that motorhomes can go to the right places,” argued Rute Silva.
The municipality is already licensing more service areas for motorhomes, which at this time of year fill areas next to beaches, in places that sometimes have limited accessibility.
“We know that the National Republican Guard and the authorities, namely the ICNF [Institute for Nature Conservation and Forests], carry out occasional assessments and inspections.” However, with the number of staff available, I also understand that the authorities can carry out these inspections only infrequently and without being able to ensure that the legislation is being complied with, because what the legislation says is that overnight stays are prohibited in natural parks,” said Rute Silva.
The GNR and the Maritime Police primarily enforce the rules, and they often accomplish challenging tasks.
“Although this area is very popular throughout the year, [in summer] most of the people who come here are foreign nationals, young people who are looking for contact with nature, who come to surf and who arrive from all over the world in search of these idyllic spots,” said Francisca Albergaria, commander of the GNR’s Portimão Territorial Detachment.
The security forces try to make offenders aware of the rules, but in many situations, they have to take a harder line.
“Our primary approach and what we must prioritise is awareness, i.e. informing people, giving them the necessary information so that they know what they can do.” “We have reached a point where we must acknowledge the offences before us, proceed with enforcement, and, if people commit offences, apply the law and issue fines,” said Francisca Albergaria.
GNR data for 2024 show that the GNR drew up 346 administrative offence reports and made two arrests for drug trafficking and driving without a licence during 11 planned enforcement actions, involving a total of 129 military personnel and the participation of the Maritime Police.
This year, the authorities have conducted seven enforcement operations involving a total of 51 officers, resulting in 171 administrative offence reports being drawn up.
“The main challenge is that this type of tourism often requires additional guidance to align with our national rules, regulations, and legislation, and in these cases, it tends to adopt behaviour that diverges from local expectations. The main challenge here is in the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentine Coast Natural Park, where we repeatedly receive complaints from locals,” said the captain of the Port of Lagos and local commander of the Maritime Police, Hugo da Guia.
There are currently two service areas or campsites that can accommodate caravans. There will soon be five, and business owners in the sector want, above all, to see an increase in the information provided to this type of tourist.
"As I said, here in our municipality [Vila do Bispo], 98% are probably foreigners, many of whom can learn about the legislation in Portugal, many of whom can discover that they are inside a natural park. Because even you [journalists], when you came here from Faro, you might have missed the signs welcoming you to the natural park. “They are absent, they do not exist,” said Joaquim Lourenço, director of Salema Eco Camp.
The phenomenon of motorhome tourism has grown significantly in recent years in the Algarve, developing in an informal context that presents challenges from both environmental and land-use planning perspectives.
Properly regulated, this type of tourism can become a valuable opportunity with significant economic benefits.
FPB/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
