Bécancour moves to regulate vanlife

Bécancour has introduced a trial ban on overnight stays by motorhomes at the tourist information bureau (BIT) car park near the Laviolette bridge. Mayor Pascal Blondin said the decision followed complaints from two nearby campsites less than a kilometre away. The ban is a pilot project to measure its effect on surrounding campsites. During the off-season the municipality plans to work with other municipalities in the MRC de Bécancour on an interactive map of places where overnight stays would be allowed. According to the Alliance de l'industrie touristique du Québec, 75,000 people travel in converted vehicles in the province each year, 90% of them Quebec residents, with annual tourism spending estimated at 370 million dollars.