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Wiltshire Council's new 2010 tourism guide has been given the thumbs down by tourism businesses in Salisbury. Ian Newman, Chairman of Salisbury City Centre Management claims that the guide fails to give Salisbury - a international tourism destination - the status it deserves.

He said: "Without a doubt Salisbury is one of the two jewels in Wiltshire's tourism crown, the other being Stonehenge. But Salisbury is virtually ignored in this new guide. If you look hard enough you will find the city is referred to in a section called 'Quintessential English Towns and Villages'. Salisbury is mentioned alongside the Wiltshire market towns of Calne and Devizes. No disrespect to either of these towns but they are not in the same league as Salisbury when it comes to tourism."

The 66 page guide which was produced by Visit Wiltshire has just been published, and 65,000 copies are ready for distribution.

Mr Newman argues that Visit Wiltshire should be using the name of Salisbury, which has a high level of recognition, to make people more aware of Wiltshire. This would bring people to the city and to the rest of the county. But he believes that the council's tourism chiefs are reluctant to give Salisbury the prominence that they know it deserves because places like Trowbridge, Bradford-on-Avon, Marlborough and others would want equal coverage. He dismisses this argument and believes that the council should play to the county's strengths - Salisbury and Stonehenge.

Mr Newman's words were echoed by Margaret James, who has owned and managed tourism businesses in the city for 23 years. She said: "In Wiltshire we are very fortunate to have two iconic tourism brands - Salisbury and Stonehenge. These are names that are known all over the world and we should be capitalising on that. For Visit Wiltshire to ignore Salisbury is inexcusable. It makes no sense at all and it shows a total lack of understanding of the basics of tourism marketing."

Salisbury City Centre Management has taken this issue up with Councillor John Brady the Wiltshire Council Cabinet Member responsible for tourism, and Alistair Cunningham Service Director. Ian Newman said: "Councillor Brady has confirmed that the council is to undertake a full review of how tourism is funded in Wiltshire and that he is sure that this will need to address the special needs of south Wiltshire. Alistair Cunningham has also confirmed that Salisbury is an important destination and he has agreed to a meeting to discuss Salisbury City Centre Management's concerns. I welcome this meeting because we must ensure that Salisbury remains on the tourist map."