ICEF South AsiaAgent Information Pack

Venue: Shangri-La Colombo, 1 Galle Face, Colombo 2, Sri Lanka
Event Date: 13:00 Monday, February 16- 18:30 Wednesday, February 18, 2025.

Please note, that ICEF South Asia 2026 participation is free of charge only for IAS agencies, 1 person per agency. In other cases, supplementary fees apply:

• Second Person fee – €795

Please contact your account manager for further information.

*only applicable for fully sponsored agencies located outside of Colombo.

You will be provided with a hotel room, including breakfast, for three nights from Monday afternoon, February 16, 2026 until Thursday morning, February 19, 2025 at one of our partner hotels. 

Your presence will be expected throughout the duration of the event.

A formal hotel booking confirmation will be sent to you approximately four weeks prior to the event. ICEF will sponsor one room per agency, unless otherwise stated.

Terms & conditions: 

• Event cancellation: If for some reason you will be unable to attend, please let us know by January 05 or you will be subject to a cancellation fee of 395 EUR. Cancellations made from the 09th February will be subject to a cancellation fee of 895 EUR.

• Event no-show: If you do not arrive for your reservation or fail to attend without contacting us, you will be charged for your accommodations for the entire period of the event, plus the cancellation fee.
• Additional person(s): If you require an extra person to be accommodated in your room, kindly inform us without delay. An additional charge of 150 EUR per person, per room will apply and must be paid in advance of the event.
• Early Departure: Should you need to leave the event earlier than February 18 at 18:30, please inform us of this at least 4 weeks in advance. In accordance with the Agent Terms & Conditions, please note that clients leaving the event early, without prior notification to ICEF will be subject to an Early Departure Fee equivalent to one night’s accommodation at the hotel’s prevailing rate.
• Hotel extra charges: All extra costs (i.e. mini-bar, room service, telephone, early/late check-in/out) will not be sponsored by ICEF and are at your own expense. The hotel will therefore ask you for your credit card details upon check-in.
• Check-in & Check-out: Earliest possible check-in time is 14:00 and the latest check-out time is 12:00 noon.
• Hotel Property Damage: Guests are hereby notified that any damage caused to the property of the hotel during their stay will result in charges applied to the credit card on file. Should you discover any damaged furniture or interior details within your designated room after check-in, please report such instances to the reception desk immediately.

Additional nights

Booking an additional night is optional and at your own expense. To book please email  shohan.alwis@shangri-la.com. The preferential rate expires on Sunday 1st February. Please only reserve additional nights outside of your sponsored nights.

The information below is advisory, we recommend you check your own visa requirements with your local embassy.

All Tourist or Business travellers to Sri Lanka must have ETA for entering into Sri Lanka. Please visit https://eta.gov.lk for more information.

For any visa-related questions, please contact visasupport@icef.com

Taxis
A designated area outside the arrival terminal for taxis, particularly those affiliated with the Airport and Aviation Services (SL)LTD. These taxis have counters in the arrival lobby and porch and can be identified by the signage.

A separate area is designated for ride-sharing services like Uber and PickMe, as well as other taxi services.

Train / subway
Bandaranaike International Airport does not have a train station directly within its premises. However, the nearest train station is a short distance away, and travelers can access it via taxi or tuk-tuk. From there, trains can be taken to various destinations, including Colombo Fort, which is a major transportation hub.

Colombo International Airport Ratmalana

The airport is only 15 km south of the Colombo city centre, reachable within 40 minutes.

Taxis
The airport taxi service (Kamvelta Travels & Tours) operates 24/7 outside of the airport, alternatively, use apps like Uber to request a ride directly from the airport.

*Not applicable to accompanying persons/guests

You will receive access to our online meeting scheduling tool, Marcom eSchedule PRO, approximately 5 weeks prior to the event, allowing you to send personalised meeting requests to targeted contacts based on source country or type of programme.

If you are using Marcom eSchedule PRO for the first time, we recommend that you visit the below links to make the most of the platform: 

• Getting Started 
• Scheduling Meetings – Useful Hints & Tips
• Video tutorials

Scheduling meetings during the event

To make the most of your participation, meetings can be scheduled once the event has started, up to one hour before the requested meeting time. 

We recommend that you leave Marcom eSchedule PRO open throughout the event and regularly refresh the page to keep an eye on the latest meeting requests that may come through. 

Please note that you will not be provided with a printed copy of your schedule at the event.

You will be able to collect your badge and welcome bag from the ICEF hospitality desk located in the Shangri-La Ballroom Foyer from 13:00 on Monday, 16 February and from 08:00 on Tuesday, 17 February.

As this is an invitation-only event, anyone not wearing a badge may not be admitted into the event area. Please also understand that for the same reason, we cannot allow non-registered family, friends or staff to enter the meeting hall.

Please note that Hotel Security may conduct baggage screening on your arrival to the hotel.

Join us on the first day of the event for a programme of seminars and presentations providing up-to-date information about the latest market trends and issues relevant to international education and student mobility. 

You can find out more via the seminar tab on your schedule soon and on the event website.

Monday 16 February

• Refreshment break – 16:00 – 16:30

Tuesday 17 February and Wednesday 18 February

• Refreshment breaks- 11:00 and 16:00 (30 minutes)
• Lunch – 13:00 – 14:00

Please contact us should you have any special dietary requirements.

Welcome Reception: Monday 16 February, 19:00 – 21:00 in the Lawn Marquee.

Sponsored by Infinite Group

Dinner Reception: Tuesday 17 February, 20:00 – 23:30 in the Shangri-La Ballroom.

Sponsored by EBIXCASH World Money 

The dress code for both receptions is smart casual. Please note that participants not wearing their event badges will not be admitted. Please register your attendance by clicking the green “Yes, I will attend” button on your MySchedule page.

If you are attending as an accompanying person without a meeting schedule your attendance at both receptions will be automatically registered.

To ensure that we are able to provide the best experience for all attendees, we would like to remind you that agents are hosted at ICEF events on the condition that they remain with the event for the duration of the programme. Please see our full event terms and conditions.

• Time zone: Colombo is 5 hours and 30 minutes ahead of GMT/UTC (UTC+05:30).
• Currency: The official currency is the Sri Lankan rupee (LKR).
• Electricity: The standard voltage is 230 V, and the frequency is 50 Hz.
• Plug type: The power plugs and sockets are of type D, M & G. Visitors may need to bring their own adaptors.
• Climate: Colombo has a tropical monsoon climate with distinct wet and dry seasons. Colombo is hot and humid throughout the year, with average temperatures ranging from 26.4°C (79.5°F) to 27.8°C (82.12°F).

If you have any questions prior to the event, please do not hesitate to contact us by email.

We look forward to welcoming you to Colombo!