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Govt slashes budget for official meeting allowances starting 2026
While Lisbon acknowledged that the hotel industry has seen declining activities due to the government budget efficiency measures, he said that the industry was expected to recover with the government’s economic incentives that would soon be implemented.
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On the rise: High-rise buildings in the Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD) in South Jakarta are illuminated by the sunset on Aug. 2, 2024. (Reuters/Ajeng Dinar Ulfiana)
T
he government has removed budget allowances earmarked for off-site meetings payable to ministries and state agencies’ officials starting next year, in line with the government goal to continue holding fewer meetings in hotels.
The removal was outlined in the Finance Ministry Regulation No. 33/2025 stipulating input cost standards for the 2026 fiscal year.
Finance ministry budgeting director general Lisbon Sirait explained that there were three types of packages eligible for daily allowance based on the duration of meetings: a halfday package for 5-hour meetings, a fullday package for 8-hour meetings and a fullboard package for meetings that lasted for a full day with an overnight stay.
This year, the ministry has removed the halfday package and is planning to also scrap the fullday package, leaving only the fullboard package in place for the 2026 budget.
The standard daily allowance for a full day of off-site meetings is Rp 95,000 (US$5.84) per person. Starting next year, the ministry will only provide a daily allowance for fullboard meetings, which is set at Rp 130,000 per person.
“[The number of] meetings in hotels will decrease as the budget has been reduced,” Lisbon said on Monday, as quoted by Bisnis.
Lisbon called on all ministries and state agencies to not perform their tasks outside the office, adding that they could optimize technologies to reduce budget pressure, such as Zoom Meeting for scheduling online meetings.
