Jakarta. Since Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian lifted restrictions on hotel and restaurant bookings by government officials, the previously sluggish hospitality industry has begun to recover.

This is evident at eL Hotel in Malang Regency, East Java. Since early June, several government agencies have started booking meeting packages at the hotel.

The General Manager of eL Hotel Malang, Tovid Agus Ivandi, welcomed the policy positively. According to him, the policy is good news for players in the hospitality industry, especially in the Mapang Raya area, which had experienced a drastic decline in occupancy rates.

eL Hotel Malang has long relied on two main segments: official events held by government agencies and school study tour visits. However, these two sectors nearly vanished at the start of 2025 due to budget efficiency policies and a ban on study tours.

Tovid explained that occupancy rates had dropped by more than 50 percent, forcing the hotel to rely solely on family guests, who also tend to choose between competing hotels. He added that if the hotel were to depend only on family guests, the revenue generated would not be sufficient to cover monthly operational costs.

Fortunately, starting in June, eL Hotel Malang began to feel the positive impact of the relaxed policy. Tovid mentioned that there had already been a booking from one of the agencies in Malang Regency.

"Bookings started coming in as soon as the discussion about the new policy emerged. This June, we’ve already hosted a two-day meeting for about 60 people from one of the government agencies in Malang Regency, although it didn’t include overnight stays," Tovid explained.

Tovid also mentioned that the hotel is currently in communication with other agencies that might hold similar events in the near future. He hopes that the policy will continue and receive support from local governments so the hospitality industry can recover sustainably.

Previously, Minister Tito allowed regional governments to once again conduct meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) in hotels and restaurants.

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