Costs & Financial Aid

2026 International Geography Championships
Costs and Registration Options

The costs, terms, and conditions of the 2026 International Geography Championships are listed below. Registration and participation in IGC 2026 implies an acceptance of all of these policies. An invoice will be sent within a week of registration with specific totals and payment instructions. For questions, please contact igc@iacompetitions.com.

Accommodations / Stay to Play Policy / Meal Packages

• Accommodations
  • Please click here for a description of accommodations and room costs at the JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa for the 2026 International Geography Championships.
  • Please book rooms using our hotel reservation link; you must use this link to take advantage of our group rate, and to be in compliance with the Stay to Play Policy. If you have already booked on your own with the hotel, please contact igc@iacompetitions.com so we can notify the hotel and credit your stay to our group.
• Additional Amenities for all JW Marriott Guests
  • Free wifi and welcome drink or ice cream
  • 20% off a la carte purchases at restaurants on the resort grounds as well as on room service purchases
  • 20% off treatments at the Quan Spa on the resort grounds
• Meal Package
  • The Meal Package is a required component of staying at the JW Marriott Khao Lak Resort & Spa for IGC 2026. It includes breakfast and lunch buffet each day at the hotel, as well as two required Gala Dinners on the nights of July 5 (i.e. the first full day of competitions) and July 12 (i.e. during the Closing Ceremonies). The meal package costs
    • 1200 THB (approximately $37 USD) per day for breakfast and lunch for anyone 19 years and older
    • 950 THB (approximately $29 USD) per day for breakfast and lunch for anyone 18 years and younger as well as for any 19 year old Competing Students
    • 1450 THB (approximately $45 USD) per dinner for the Opening Gala Dinner and the Closing Gala Dinner (includes soft drinks)
    • For Reference:
      • (1200 THB x 8 days) + (1450 THB x 2 dinners) = 9600 THB + 2900 THB = 12,500 THB = ~ $388 USD.
      • (950 THB x 8 days) + (1450 THB x 2 dinners) = 7600 THB + 2900 THB = 10,500 THB = ~ $325 USD.
  • Note that the meal package is paid to the hotel directly; it is not required to be paid when you reserve the room, however.
  • Meal Policies for Children for Meals Outside the Meal Package
    • Children aged (3) and below eat free of charge when ordering from the children’s menu, standard menu and / or standard buffet offerings
    • Children between (4) through (11) years old receive a 50% discount on food items when ordering from the standard a la carte menu or full buffet offerings. 
    • These discounts do not apply to the meals contained in the meal package. 
• Stay to Play Policy
  • Unless granted an exception under the Financial Aid Program (see below), or if our block of rooms sells out, students and families are required to stay at the host hotel, the JW Marriott Resort and Spa in Khao Lak, and book using our hotel reservation link. This is to ensure that the hotel is able to provide us the rooms and other facilities that we need for IGC 2026 events, as that is how our agreement with the hotel is structured. Those staying at the host hotel are also required to purchase the meal package. Hotel reservations will be open for bookings through June 4, 2026 or until our block of rooms sells out. Families cannot cancel their rooms and rebook elsewhere if the block sells out; families that do this are liable to pay for their initially agreed upon room(s) at the JW Marriott Resort and Spa Khao Lak in full.

Registration Options

• Participating Student Tuition: All student registrations include participation in all IGC events (buzzer-based competitions, exams, other competitions), field trips in and around Khao Lak and a souvenir package. The participating student tuition fee of $1850 / $2100 / $2200 (depending on when payment is received) does not include meals or accommodations, nor does it include additional activities organized by the hotel that incur costs.
• Family & Friends Program: This registration option is available to parents, siblings, coaches, teachers, and others who wish to take part actively in IGC activities throughout the week. There is only one Family and Friends Program option for IGC 2026 (i.e. there is no Basic Option vs. Extended Option distinction). This registration option includes a souvenir package, the ability to go on tours (as well as all tour fees), and competitions that are open to Family and Friends Program participants. Please see the Family and Friends Program Page for further details.

Financial Aid Program & Options

• Discounted Tuition
  IAC will be running fundraiser events through the first half of 2026 (including the Parents, Teachers, and Siblings Bee at Middle & Elementary School US National Championships and various online competitions which will be announced in late December). These fundraiser events will provide a pool of what is projected to be $5000-$15,000 USD to be used to help subsidize student tuition. Tuition reduction requests can be made using the IGC 2026 Financial Aid Request Form; decisions will be granted on a rolling basis beginning in February and continuing through May. Please note that tuition requests are most likely to be granted if a student is BOTH likely to be in the running for either the overall IGC World Championship title and/or the International Geography Bee World Championship title AND has demonstrated financial need.
• Exemption from Stay to Play
  Between 1 in 10 and 1 in 20 families may be exempted from the requirement to stay at the host hotel, at least until our room block has sold out (after which families may book elsewhere in Khao Lak, and are exempt from the JW Marriott Khao Lak meal package, though they must still purchase a minimum of one ticket for the opening and closing gala dinners for an accompanying adult as well as all Competing Students in the family. Please note that exemptions from Stay to Play are also most likely to be granted to students who are both likely to contend for world championship titles and have demonstrated financial need. Please fill out the IGC 2026 Financial Aid Request Form if you are interested in an exemption from the Stay to Play Policy.
• Adjunct Staff Program Discount: This is an option for adults who have experience in reading questions at IAC tournaments who wish to defray their costs at IGC 2026 by reading questions. Further details are available here.

Pre and Post-IGC Tours

• Pre-Tour to Bangkok (June 30-July 4):
  • If staying at the Holiday Inn Express Central Pier: $795 per person if payment is received by December 29. Otherwise, $895 per person (4 nights, 3.5 days). Please see the Costs and Details Page for single supplements costs.
  • If staying at the Shangri La Bangkok: $995 per person if payment is received by December 29. Otherwise, $1145 per person (4 nights, 3.5 days). Please see the Costs and Details Page for single supplements costs.
  • Please view the planned tour itinerary here for details.
  • Please also review the Costs and Details Page before registering.
• Post-Tour to Angkor Wat & Cambodia (July 12-16):
  • $795 per person if payment is received by December 29. $895 per person (4 nights, 3 days).
  • Please view the planned tour itinerary here for details.
  • Please also review the Costs and Details Page before registering.

Dated Registration Policy
We are offering discounted registration if payment is received by December 29. After May 1, if payment has not been received, the fees increase per the schedule on the right of this page. It is more challenging for us to make plans and hire the appropriate amount of staff if we receive registrations close to the date. These extra fees at the end of the registration period provide an incentive for all participants to pay before the end of the 2025 calendar year, or at least the end of April 2026.

Payment = Registered Policy
International Academic Competitions will not consider a participant “registered” for IGC 2026 and will not add a student to the List of Attending Students until not only we have received their registration, but also their payment. In particular, to be eligible to sign up for field trips and competitions, participants will need to have their payments submitted before they can do that.

Payment Methods
International Academic Competitions will only accept the following payment methods for the 2026 International Geography Championships (including Family and Friends Program fees), as well as the Bangkok Pre-Tour and the Angkor Wat & Cambodia Post-Tour.
1. US dollar denominated check from a bank in the USA
2. Wire transfer (incurs $35 wire transfer fee)
3. Cash payable in US dollars or Euro equivalent (no other currencies are accepted) at the 2026 Varsity / Junior IAC USA National Championships, the 2026 IAC USA Middle and Elementary School National Championships, the 2026 IAC European Championships, or the 2026 IAC Asian Championships.
It is not possible to pay by credit card.

Cancellation and Refund Policy
Once payment has been received, a $200 processing fee at any time until May 1 will apply for any Participating Student or Family and Friends Program participant who cancels their registration for any reason. We have had problems in past years where numerous students have cancelled their registrations on short notice, which makes it difficult to hire the appropriate number of staff, secure tickets for field trips, and places an undue burden on our ability to run IGC well. Therefore, please do not send in your payment to confirm your registration until you know you will be able to join us.
Between May 1 and the registration deadline of June 1, 50% of the registration and accommodation fees for all types of participants will be refunded. After June 1, no refunds will be provided for registration fees.
To cancel your registration and request a refund, you must email igc@iacompetitions.com – no other communication method is accepted for this purpose.

Parent / Guardian Attendance Policy
1. All students under 18 are required to attend IGC 2026 with a parent or guardian (who may be a school-based sponsor); there is no Unaccompanied Student Program for IGC 2026.
2. The parent or guardian does not need to be enrolled in the Family and Friends Program.
3. Students aged 18 or 19 are welcome to attend IGC (if they are eligible to do so) without a parent or guardian, but must agree to abide by the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Controlled Substance policy (i.e. consumption of any of these is grounds for immediate expulsion).

Registration and Payment Deadlines / Late Payment Policies
Registration will close on June 1, 2026. All payments are due in full no later than June 10, 2026. If payment is not received by June 10, then there will be 5 grace period days where we will attempt to contact you to get you to send in your payment as soon as possible. If payment is not received by 11:59 EDT (i.e. New York City time) on June 15, then late fees per person (including for Family and Friends Program participants) will accrue at $50 per day through July 4. The late fees must be paid either together with your registration fees or in cash on site before you will be allowed to take part.

Event Cancellation Policy
If International Academic Competitions is forced to cancel the International Geography Championships in advance of it due to reasons pertaining to acts of God or circumstances beyond our control (e.g. pandemic, war, political unrest, etc.), then participation fees will be reimbursed in full, minus any transaction fees we incur (including currency conversions and wire transfer fees). If we need to cancel IGC during the event itself, then registration costs will be refunded on a prorated basis depending on how much of IGC has taken place until then.