Belitung
The population is centered in several small towns, populated by approximately 262,000 inhabitants. The largest are Tanjung Pandan in the west and Manggar in the east, which are the respective capitals of the two Regencies into which the island is administratively divided. While ethnic Malays people make up the largest percentage, Belitung has large populations of Bugis, Sundanese, and ethnic Chinese people who formerly worked for the Dutch, mining tin. There are also sizeable populations of Balinese and Maduranese who were settled there in the Suharto era transmigration.
Belitung is a source of tin, clay, iron ore and silica sands. The Dutch mining company NV Billiton Maatschappij derives its name from the island's name. Billiton merged with BHP in 2001 to form the largest diversified resources company, BHP Billiton. The island is also a producer of fishery products, pepper, coconut, and palm oil. People work as farmers, fishermen and miners. The island is easily accessible with 4 daily 50-minute flights from Jakarta. Due to the fantastic white sand beaches and picturesque offshore islands, tourism is starting to become a larger part of the local economy.
The mainly tourist destinations are beaches and offshore islands/islets. The beaches are Tanjung Tinggi Beach and Tanjung Kelayang Beach which both have blue clear water, sand and rocky beaches. The islands/islets are Batu Berlayar Island which full of granite, Pasir Island which is made of sand and submerged during high tide, Bird Islet (Pulau Burong, which can be accessed from Tanjung Binga beach by walking on at low tide), Lengkuas Island (which is the home of a 129-year-old lighthouse and a good place for snorkeling), Babi Island and Kelayang Islet.
Related Sites for Belitung
- Agoda Belitung Hotels read Belitung
- BELITUNG / BILLITON - Paradise at the End of Rainbow read Belitung
- Belitung - The Superb Beach of Belitung read Belitung
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