Ministry of Religious Affairs Proposes 2024 Hajj Cost at Rp105 Million, a 16% Increase from This Year

The Ministry of Religious Affairs (Kemenag) has proposed an average Hajj Pilgrimage Cost (BPIH) of Rp105 million per pilgrim for the 1445 Hijriah/2024 Masehi year. However, this proposed Hajj cost is still under discussion by the BPIH Working Committee (Panja) before being finalized.

BPIH is the total cost required for the Hajj pilgrimage and is managed by the government each Hajj season. This fund is a combination of pilgrim's money and government subsidies.

The BPIH includes components such as flight costs, accommodation, meals, transportation, Armuzna (services in Mecca, Medina, and Arafah), embarkation/disembarkation, immigration, travel documents, and living expenses.

"The process is that the government submits a proposal for the Hajj cost. We propose a BPIH of Rp105 million per pilgrim. This proposal will be the basis of discussion by the Panja to determine the final Hajj cost for 2024," said Minister of Religious Affairs (Menag) Yaqut Cholil Qoumas, as reported by Antara on Tuesday (14/11/2023).

This BPIH proposal was previously presented at a working meeting with Commission VIII of the Indonesian House of Representatives (DPR RI) in Jakarta on Monday (13/11/2023).

For comparison, during the 2023 Hajj season, the government proposed an average BPIH of Rp98.89 million per pilgrim. After extensive discussions through the BPIH Panja, the average BPIH for 2023 was finally agreed upon at Rp90.05 million per pilgrim. Therefore, Kemenag's proposed BPIH for 2024 is approximately 16.02% higher than the 2023 BPIH.

"This is still an initial proposal that will be discussed in the Panja. After the prices in the field have been analyzed and studied, it will be agreed upon and determined how much will be paid by the Hajj pilgrims (Bipih) and how much will be taken from the value of the pilgrims' initial deposits," said Yaqut.

According to Yaqut, there is a difference in the Hajj cost proposal scheme for 2024 compared to previous years. In yesterday's DPR RI working meeting, the government only proposed the total BPIH amount. The government no longer calculates the composition of the Bipih amount to be paid by pilgrims and the value of benefits.

"The BPIH proposed by the government will then be discussed in more detail, component by component, by the BPIH Panja. After the BPIH is agreed upon, the composition of the Bipih amount paid by pilgrims and the amount sourced from the value of benefits will be calculated," said Yaqut.

Yaqut explained that the BPIH 2024 is based on an assumption of an exchange rate of US$1 to Rp16,000. Meanwhile, the assumed exchange rate for SAR to rupiah is Rp4,266.