By Tara Yap NEW YORK—The American market is not directly affected by the six-month closure of world-famous Boracay Island in Malay town, Aklan province. (AFP PHOTO / NOEL CELIS / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) “There is no negative impact from American mainstream tour operators,” said Susan Del Mundo, tourism attaché to New York of the Department of Tourism (DOT). “Honestly, we did not receive any negative sentiments from the mainstream market,” Del Mundo told the Manila Bulletin in an interview. She explained that American tourists from the United States or even neighboring Canada are not the top foreign tourists of Boracay, the country’s most popular beach destination. Based on data from DOT’s Western Visayas office, South Koreans are still the number one foreign arrivals in Boracay. A total of 388,439 South Koreans visited Boracay last year. In comparison, there were only 22,648 American tourists who came to Boracay in 2017. Del Mundo even added that Chinese are catching up with the South Koreans with the pivot of the Duterte administration in having closer diplomatic ties with China. She observed that only Filipino-Americans familiar with Boracay have reacted based on news stories and not necessarily Americans themselves who are complaining. The DOT’s New York office is looking forward to the reopening of Boracay by the end of October or early November as Philippine Airlines (PAL), the country’s flag carrier, is launching direct New York-Manila and vice versa flights. “When they arrive in Manila, they can opt to visit a renewed Boracay,” Del Mundo said. DOT’s New York office is also promoting other Philippine destinations such as Gigantes and Sicogon Islands in Iloilo, Palawan, Cebu, Bohol, Dumaguete, and Siquijor to the American market. DOT recently wrapped up its advertising campaign in New York’s subway system, buses and digital billboards along the famous Times Square.