Spanish village tells urban tourists to leave if they ‘can’t handle’ rural life

‘Here we have roosters that crow early in the morning and herds of livestock that live nearby,’ reads new poster campaign

Ribadesella is encouraging visitors to embrace rural living (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

A village in Spain has told tourists who “can’t handle” the noises found in the countryside that they should consider going elsewhere.

Ribadesella in Asturias on Spain's north coast has launched a poster campaign warning visitors about the realities of rural life.

“Here we have church bells that ring out regularly, roosters that crow early in the morning and herds of livestock that live nearby and at times carry cowbells that also make noise,” reads the new poster.

“If you can’t handle all this, you may not be in the right place.”

The messages were introduced in response to tourist complaints, including a woman who called up “three or four times about a rooster that woke her up at fivein the morning,” Ramón Canal, Ribadesella’s mayor, told Spanish broadcaster Antena 3.

Other bizarre complaints included the noise made by braying donkeys, and cow pats found around the village.

“Realise that milk does not come in cartons , the cows bring it and you have to feed and maintain them,” said Canal of the need to educate people visiting from urban areas.

“To hear a rooster crowing at night is normal,” added deputy mayor, Luis Sánchez, in an interview with newspaper La Voz de Asturias.

“If you come to a rural hotel, you have to be aware that it is rural and that this is daily life in the towns.”

He said Ribadesella got the idea for a poster campaign from Saint-André-de-Valborgne, a village in the South of France, which took a similar approach a few years ago following complaints from tourists more used to city living.

Officials put up posters warning guests of church bells, cowbells and roosters crowing.