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Large tourist groups visiting the iconic La Boqueria market in Barcelona are to be banned in the latest move to address overcrowding in the popular Catalan capital.

It may be one of the biggest tourist attractions in the city, but in order to quell tensions between visitors and locals, groups of more than 15 will not be permitted to enter at peak times.

With Friday and Saturday mornings the busiest, stallholders had complained to city officials that increased footfall was resulting in blockages at the venue off La Rambla.

La Boqueria is rightly a tourist hotspot in Barcelona, but now numbers are going to be monitored

The period between 8am and 3pm local time on Friday and Saturday is when locals do their weekly shopping, and it is believed security guards will be on hand to escort large tourist groups out of the area.

Speaking to MailOnline Travel, Rob Dobson, who lives in Barcelona and runs a blog in tribute to the city said: 'I think it's a good idea but too little too late maybe. 

'They could have gone further I think. A group of 15 is still a lot of people. With that number you'd expect a guide too so the group would be stopping constantly and the guide giving their patter.

'I think the important thing is the desire for the ban came from the stallholders themselves. I imagine that these groups don't actually buy that much, and clog up the market for the people that do. 

'Fridays and Saturdays (the days on which the ban is to be implemented) should probably be their best trading days and are, I'm guessing, turning out not to be. 

'I'm sure it's not cheap renting a stall in La Boqueria either. It is a local working market at the end of the day and has to be able to function efficiently.' 

Security officials will escort groups of more than 15 out of the market at peak times - Friday and Saturday mornings

Stallholders and locals have complained to city officials of blockages due to overcrowding at the market

Speaking to The Local, Barcelona-based writer Sally Davies said: 'As a person who does genuinely need to stop in La Boqueria from time to time, I find those huge groups of tourists a real pain.

'Give them (the tourists) a map, point out the most interesting stalls and let them discover it for themselves, I say. That way they're more likely to buy things, too, which is good for everyone involved.' 

In September last year residents in Barcelona fed up with the hordes of tourists crowding their streets took their protest against mass tourism to one of the city's most famous landmarks.

Around 300 people organised a noisy demonstration around the Sagrada Familia to complain about the holidaymakers making their lives a misery.

The number of tourists visiting Barcelona has more than tripled in the last 20 years.

La Rambla in Barcelona has a constant stream of tourists and locals throughout the day

Antoni Gaudi's Park Güell implemented an entrance fee to quell the volume of tourists entering

More than three million people visit the Sagrada Familia, Antoni Gaudi's spectacular Catholic church and Unesco World Heritage site, every year.

Figures from 2013 showed Barcelona surpassed 7.5million tourists in 12 months for the first time in its history, with France, followed by the UK and then the US, topping the list of nationalities visiting the city.

However, Barcelona has also earned a reputation as the street crime capital of Europe, with pickpocketing and bag snatching a common complaint among visitors.

Gaudi's Park Güell, which was meant as a gift to the people of Barcelona, now charges for entry and numbers are limited to 800 a day following complaints about overcrowding.

Manuel Casanovas, who works for Barcelona Tourism, told MailOnline Travel: 'Turisme de Barcelona completely agree on the reorganization of tourist areas.

'Because the Boqueria Market has become one of the main icons of the city, the best thing they could do is a sort of reorganization of the public flow especially on Friday and Saturday, which is the moment that most locals do their weekly shopping.'