New rules for RV campers in pipeline

China's first regulation for the recreational vehicle industry will likely be launched this year.

The regulation was initiated by the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration and is being jointly created by tourism authorities in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.

The standards are in the final stages of drafting and the first part, which deals with camps for recreational vehicles, will go into effect later this year, the Shanghai Morning Post reported.

The newspaper quoted an anonymous source as saying that the first batch of camps will be built in first-tier cities in Shanghai and in Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Anhui provinces.

Shanghai has plans to build 14 caravan parks.

An association for RV tourism will also be established soon.

The Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration told China Daily that details of the draft couldn't be revealed yet because the process is still ongoing.

Zhu Guojian, vice-director at the administration's policy and regulation department, said that all kinds of segments from the RV industry, ranging from production, to sales to operations, are looking forward for the regulation.

Shanghai's website eastday.com quoted Jin Xinghua, who's in charge of a local RV club, as saying that "the consumers still regard recreational vehicles as a transportation mode rather than a tourism concept".

Jin said that he's glad to see that authorities are paying attention to the industry.

According to Han Xiaolu, director of Asia affairs at the United States' Recreational Vehicle Industry Association, China had about 6,000 RVs by 2012, but the market will still take some years to mature.