Addressing a gathering after inaugurating the Leonia International Centre for Exhibitions and Conventions (LICEC) near Shameerpet near here today, Meira Kumar appreciated the state government for maintaining a balance between development and public welfare.

Quoting the words of Telugu poet Gurram Jashuva, she called on the business community to strive and provide an opportunity to all citizens as envisaged in the Constitution. “I appreciate the private companies like LICEC management for establishing the convention centre in a rural area providing employment to rural people,” she said.

Speaking on the occasion, chief minister K Rosaiah said that Hyderabad is emerging as convention destination with the state bagging large number of awards at the national level in tourism sector.

He said the state has remained numero uno in the country in domestic tourism by attracting 15.75 crore domestic tourists and 79.52 lakh foreign tourists till 2009. Rosaiah said that the government will announce its new tourism policy on September 27 marking the World Tourism Day. He explained about various plans for development of tourism sector in the State.

Tourism minister J Geeta Reddy said the state government is planning to launch a campaign declaring 2011 as ‘Visit Hyderabad Year’ to promote tourism in the state which is attracting the highest number of domestic tourists in the country, consecutively for the past four years. She said that the state government is welcoming more private investors to come up with projects that will boost the tourism industry in the state.