The board of the new Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (ADTCA) has held its inaugural meeting, under the chairmanship of His Excellency Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan.

The new body will replace the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) and the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH).

ADTCA body was unveiled on February 9th, 2012 under a law issued by the UAE president His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, in his capacity as ruler of Abu Dhabi.

The objective of the authority is to preserve, protect and manage the emirate’s cultural heritage and leverage it as the core driver of the emirate’s tourism development and promotion.

The board named Mubarak Al Muhairi as director general.

He comes to the post after seven years at Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority.

“The board agreed that in Mubarak Al Muhairi the new authority has a proven leader who sets the tone of an organisation by example and has a wealth of experience in both the tourism and culture sectors,” said Sheikh Sultan.

The board also authorised an audit of the assets and facilities of the former Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority and Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage ahead of the implementation of an integration action plan.

“We are looking to deliver a seamless transition into a unified body that will bring additional synergy to the delivery of enhanced product and services across a number of segments,” said Sheikh Sultan.

Last month, Abu Dhabi said it was once again pushing back the opening of local branches of the Louvre and Guggenheim art museums.

The decision follows a fresh review of the projects.

The Louvre Abu Dhabi, a spin-off of the famous Paris museum, will now open in 2015 while the planned branch of New York’s Guggenheim will open in 2017,

Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) said in a statement.

The Zayed National Museum will open in 2016, the statement added.

All the three museums were originally scheduled to open between 2013 and 2014.