KK, Portland to become sister cities in 2015

6 JULY 2014 @ 8:11 AM

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is studying establishing sister cities status to Kota Kinabalu and Portland in the United States to boost the tourism industry.

State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun said it was a way to promote Sabah to Americans when the sister cities were established by September next year.

“It is an honour that the US ambassador has chosen Kota Kinabalu as the sister city to Portland in Oregon.

“The plan is practical as both cities are connected through KK-Korea and Hong Kong-San Francisco flights,” he said, adding that the state was optimistic that the move could revive the tourism industry, which had been affect by the recent kidnapping cases and Malaysia Airlines flight MH370’s disappearance.

Masidi said this after lauching the three-day Matta Fair Sabah 2014 here yesterday.

He said industry players had to improve their marketing strategy.

The state had recorded a 50 per cent drop in tourists from China. However, visitors from Korea had increased by 20 per cent.

“Tour operators should know there are ups and downs. However, they should never lose hope.

“There are other markets, such as Singapore and Jakarta,” he said, adding that the state government was optimistic of reaching the target of three million visitors by year-end.

Present were Sabah Tourism Board general manager Datuk Irene Charuruks and Matta Sabah chairman Robert Chong.