The Assembly of Barrios for Sustainable Tourism (ABTS) has called for a protest against the cruise industry in the Port of Barcelona on Sunday April 24, 2016. According to their statement the reason for this protest is the pollution caused by the cruise ships to the neighborhoods close to the port.

ABTS on their website says “Cruise ships present serious threat to public health, because of their emissions of toxic gasses. One cruise ship consumes the same volume as 12,000 cars, and emissions do not stop when the ship arrives at the Port: cruise ships keep engines running for the enormous amount of electricity required to keep up these holiday villages. Despite the demands for cruise ship to plug into the local electrical grid, the port remains lax regulations in order to be competitive , prioritizing their private interests to public health are profiting at the expense of our loss of health, and the government is silent .

Regarding the health of our neighborhoods closest to the Port (Old Town, Barceloneta and Poble Sec) and other areas of tourist interest or commercial (Sagrada Familia, Parc Guell, Passeig de Gràcia, etc.) suffer a tourist invasion extra days when the Port download thousands of cruise passengers. The public space becomes a real "every man for himself"; trade, denatured and specialized tourist pressure over the years, is devastated, and most of us have to hide at home.”

There are six cruise ships scheduled to arrive in Barcelona on Sunday April 24, 2016: Costa Fascinosa, Costa Favolosa, Holland America Line Eurodam, NCL Norwegian Epic, Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Seas, Seabourn Odyssey and Wind Star.