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1 Traveller = 1 Donation

The Scholarships of Tropical Experience

In 2017, we created a fundraising campaign to support economically disadvantaged students of Tondo, district of Manila, living in the so-called "Smokey Mountain" neighbourhood.

Through the years, we re-adapted this campaign by making ourselves the principal donors through the "1 Traveller = 1 Donation" project: for each single traveller that booked a trip with Tropical Experience, we added 5€ to a special scholarship fund.

The scholarships were granted to the students through the Young Focus Foundation, located in Tondo, Manila.

After witnessing the positive outcomes of this project, we made it into a permanent campaign of our tour operator in the Philippines.

It's a fundamental activity for us to contribute to the development of the Philippines. We deeply believe in education as a true development boost for individuals and their communities.

We also received funds from various people who desired to support this advocacy. Below, you can find data and reports of this project.

We chose to continue the project all these years because we are convinced that education is a key factor to bring change into the lives of people, uplift their families and their communities. And, thinking big, each new student will bring benefits to the whole Philippines.

Education can make girls and boys independent, open new scenarios and possibilities, giving the opportunities to find a stable job to create a different life, for them and their future children.

While we organize tours of the Philippines, we want at the same time to give our own factual contribution to the people that live in this wonderful country.

21 scholarships

FUNDED SINCE 2017.

Counter 2025

ONGOING PROJECT.

From 1 January 2025, we have collected 550€

(updated on October 21, 2025)

History of the Project

2017: first fundraising campaigns

After getting to know their work and being positively moved by it, in 2017 and 2019 we launched two fundraising campaigns in support of Young Focus Foundation, operating in the Smokey Mountain area in Tondo (Manila).

The Foundation offers 360-degree assistance to children and older students to have access to education, which can really bring a real change to a life!

2019: the project is funded directly by Tropical Experience

In 2019, we decided to change formula, not asking others to donate yet funding the scholarships ourselves. That's when the project "1 Traveller = 1 Donation" started. We made small standard equivalent donations everytime we received a Philippine tour reservation.

This way, Tropical Experience became the main donor.

We are still open - of course - for the participation of whoever would ike to contribute. Some of our former clients and acquitances became consistent co-sponsors year after year.

2020: tourism paused, yet the project continued

Despite the forced shutdown of international tourism during the pandemic, we continued financing the project also in 2020 and 2021-2022 (biennal project). Since there were no travellers during that time, we temporarily resorted to fundraising again and were able to continue this activity with the help of acquitances and online followers.

Though it has been a quite complicated time with a 2-year cease of international travels, we chose not to suspend the project. Indeed, during this time the educational sector had to face further obstacles, especially difficult for the least priviledged families. The Young Focus fundation itself had to deal with new challenges.

2022-TODAY: a permanent and quintupled project!

Not only our project became fully integrated in our activities, it was also able to raise awarness among other people. For this reason, we won't be prevented to share the results of this project with everyone!

Thanks to the communication activities linked to this social responsibility project, some donors decided to participate and enhance our project. This lead us to fund additional scholarships in 2021 and 2022, providing 4 scholarships for both years!

We are also proud to announce that we raised 5 scholarships last 2023. And for 2024, we have another 5 college scholarships granted!

Resporting and Transparency

In the links below, you can find the reports of the donations. Since the very start of the project, transparency has always been a commitment and a duty for Tropical Experience. We directly know the organization we sponsor, we monitor the progress of the students, we declare the exact amounts of the donations public, we record the transactions and share the proof of the payments.

This is crucial for any project that aims to be a vector of sustainable development in a serious and verifiable manner.

We periodically organize in-person visits and we get updates on the progress and challenges of the students involved. One of the reasons why we chose Young Focus Foundation for our project is their ability in defining and periodically communicating the progress done by the students. This happens not only for their school performances: we receive regular updates also regarding their personal dreams and aspirations, their families, their financial situations and their mental and physical well-being. If you want to know more, find the details on the use of the funds on the website www.youngfocus.org.

The links below show the verified bank transaction receipts of the all the payments we made as well as the receipts released by the Young Focus Foundation to Tropical Experience Travel Services. Young Focus annually sends us thank-you letters as well. You can read the latest one below.

Reporting and receipts of the 2017 Project ( fundraising - 1 scholarship funded) - Click here
Reporting and receipts of the 2018 Project (fundraising - 1 scholraship funded) - Click here
Payment receipt Project 2019 (direct - 1 scholarship funded) - Click here
Payment receipt Project 2020-2021 (direct + fundraising - 4 scholarships funded) - Click here
Payment receipt Project 2021-2022 (direct + fundraising - 4 scholarships funded) - Click here
Payment receipt Project 2023 (direct - 5 scholarships funded) - Click here
Payment receipt Project 2024 (direct - 5 scholarships funded) - Click here

The fundraising were organized involving other people for voluntary donations.

Direct + fundraising projects were primarly financed by Tropical Experience + involvement of other people for voluntary donations.

The "direct"-only projects were fully financed by Tropical Experience. Other extra donations from anonymous donors were still arranged with the direct final payment done by Tropical Experience, without fundraising processes involved.

Thank You Letter to Tropical Experience by Young Focus Foundation (2025)

(click to enlarge)

FAQ on the project

How does the donation process work?

For each single traveller that books a trip with Tropical Experience, we put 5€ in a special fund set for the students of Young Focus (so, if you are travelling as a couple, we will automatically donate 10€; If you are a family of 4 people, we will automatically donate 20€; and so on...).

Who pays for the campaign?

The campaign is exclusively funded by us. There are no additional payments asked to our clients: it is our own initiative to donate - on our account - a small amount everytime someone books on of our tours of the Philippines.

I'm not a client of yours, can I support the campaign anyway? / I am already your client, can I donate separately?

Of course the answer is yes to both questions! Several people dediced to give their contributions during the past years. The campaign itself started as a typical fundraising approach. You can contact us if you like to make a private contribution or to directly donate to Young Focus through other channels. Write us at experiencetropical@gmail.com for further information.

How much money will you gather? How much will actually reach the students?

As of today, to fund a scholarship for 1 college student we need 400 € per year. Once this amount is reached, we will give the amount to the Foundation (transaction expenses and bank charges are shouldered by Tropical Experience). The students will not directly receive the money: enrollment in the university, payment of other services and accessory expenses are managed by the Foundation, that selects students and provides them with equipment, tutorial services, laboratories and other activities. Aside from joining the official classes, the students must also participate in the additional enrichment activities of Young Focus, as well as being available for the periodical monitoring. For more information, visit www.youngfocus.org.

What if you gather more than 400 euro?

As stated above, the project became a permanent one. The deadline for gathering funds is December 31. If we gather funds for 1 scholarship (400 €), we will donate 1. If we will gather enough money to provide 2 scholarships (800 €), we will donate 2.

If there will be excess amounts that are not sufficient for funding an extra scholarship, the amount will be carried over to the next year (ie: if we gather 500 €, 400 € will be used to fund 1 scholarship and the 100 € in excess will fund the project for the next year).

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM: OUR 12 GOALS

Our commitments to respect the environment, the people and to promote responsible tourism in the Philippines.

Click here to learn more!