If this is true, it needs to change.
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Tourism official: State travel rules stunt business
Malone says per diems discourage in-state meetings
Wednesday, June 15, 2005
By SALLIE OWEN
Capital Bureau
MONTGOMERY -- Alabama hotels would get more convention business if the state changes how it pays for employee travel, according to one Baldwin County tourism official.
When state employees travel within Alabama, they receive a set per diem, or flat daily rate, of $75 for meals and lodging on overnight trips, said Finance Director Jim Main. When traveling out-of-state, they are reimbursed for actual expenses.
"It is a disincentive to holding meetings in state," said Herb Malone, president and chief executive officer of the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau.
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