The British Tourist Authority (BTA) and the English Tourism Council (ETC) are to join forces to form a national tourism marketing organisation for the UK.

Speaking in the House of Commons, culture secretary, Tessa Jowell announced the proposal to bring together the resources and strengths of the two organisations in a bid to reduce the UK's tourism balance of payments.

The yet to be named marketing unit is the result of a five-month government review of English tourism and the BTA's own review of its strategy and support for British tourism from overseas. Its aim will be to promote inbound tourism to Britain and market England within Britain.

The team responsible for marketing England within the new national unit, will be advised by the England Marketing Advisory Body - a new non-executive body comprising representatives from the private sector and regional and local government. The England balance of payments deficit currently stands at £13.2bn, compared to a £3.2bn credit in 1990.

The unit is part of the wider reform of tourism marketing in the UK, formed after consultation with the First Minister in Scotland and the First Secretary in Wales.

The new structure also includes plans to develop better partnerships between the public sector and tourism industry in the marketing of England following the success of the Only in Britain. Only in 2002 campaign. Its other aim is to develop a more coherent marketing agenda across Britain by ensuring England, Scotland and Wales retain and develop strong separate brand identities to attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

Jowell also said that a further £10m would be available for tourism services over three years on the effective implementation of reform and securing matching funding from public/private partnerships.