From tin mining to tourism, Belitung looks the future

Text and photos by I. Christianto

TANJUNG PANDAN, Belitung (JP): Belitung was once well known for its tin mines.

But tin mining activities on this small island off South Sumatra have declined with the island's shrinking tin deposits. It has also been determined that the prospects for other natural resources on the island like clay, kaolin and granite quarries are not very good.

Thus, the potential of Belitung (which the Dutch called Billiton) is being explored in other areas. Tourism is now being touted as a viable foreign exchange earner by the next decade.

"Belitung is already beautiful, it's just sleeping," said Belitung Regent Urip T.P. Alam. "The island would be better off as a tourism destination."

A multimillion-dollar tourist resort, to be called Belitung Indah Resort, is already planned. Construction of the 1,070- hectare facility is scheduled to begin in January. Belitung Indah Resort will be the island's first resort.

The investor planning the US$120 million resort -- PT Putra Ciptawahana Sejati (Ranati), owned by President Soeharto's youngest son Hutomo Mandala Putra -- also believes that Belitung is a hidden jewel. The company expects that the small secluded island will soon take its place among the world's favored tourism destinations.

According to Ranati's technical director, Marc Krisnanto, Belitung Indah Resort will be built on the northeastern coast of the island. Development will take place in two stages, the first of which will cover 270 hectares and the second 800 hectares. The first stage of development is scheduled to be completed in 1998, and the second stage in 2005.

The resort will include 700 residential units, four hotels, a village center, a water recreation center, an 18-hole golf course, a park and a landscaped buffer.

"The resort will offer pristine beaches and the nature of Belitung Island," Krisnanto said.

But tourists usually look for attractive and interesting activities, he said, not just secluded beaches with palms and hills of granite, like those found on Belitung.

There is diving on Belitung, but the island still lacks facilities. Meanwhile, the people on the island do not have a strongly individual culture or much of a tradition in the arts.

The ethnic makeup of the people includes Javanese, Bugis, Batak and Chinese. Among Belitung's customs are buang jong, an annual ritual ceremony, maras tahun, a kind of exorcist rite, and the traditional musical performances of beregong, beripat and berinai.

Belitung was once part of the territory of the seventh century Sriwijaya and Majapahit kingdoms. A poorly maintained local museum brims with relics from these early kingdoms. Armaments, traditional kris daggers as well as delicate ceramics and porcelain can be found at the museum.

The island also has batu satam (billitonite), a black sparkling stone which can be crafted into jewelry and is believed to have mystical powers. People believe that the stone came from a meteor which exploded and fell to Belitung about 500,000 years ago.

Other possible attractions are the grave of King Badau, the Gunung Tajam conservation forest, the 149-year-old Burung Mandi Chinese temple and the old tin mining areas.

Some former tin mining areas have been turned into huge lakes surrounded by the Billiton mountains. A trip to the mountains, however, could take some time as they are far from Tanjung Pandan and public transportation is still lacking.

There are not many flights to Belitung. The island's Buluhtumbang airport is served by only two domestic air carriers, Sempati Air and Merpati Nusantara. They serve the Jakarta-Tanjung Pandan route and vice versa once a day. Merpati also runs Palembang-Tanjung Pandan and Tanjung Pandan-Pangkalpinang (Bangka Island) services four times a week. A chartered airline, Deraya, offers short-haul services from several cities in Sumatra to Belitung.

Official data show that Belitung has eight hotels with a total of 150 rooms. The state-owned telecommunications provider, PT Telkom, has installed about 3,000 telephone lines on the island, but there are few public pay phones.

About 4,000 domestic and 500 overseas tourists visited the island last year, according to official data.

In addition to tourism, Belitung's other major sources of income currently include agriculture, plantations, livestock and fisheries.